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SOLITUDE SWEETENED; 



OR* 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS 



ON VARIOUS 



RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, 

WRITTEN IN DISTANT PARTS 0F THE WORLB. 



BY JAMES MEIKLE, 

LATE SURGEON AT CARNWATH. 



Psal. cxxxix. 9,10. If I take the wings of the morning, or dwell in the uttermost 
parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall 
hold me. 

Psal. cir 34. Of him my meditation shall be sweet. 



THIRD AMERICAN EDITION. 



ALB AMY: 
PUBLISHED BY C. DODGE, BOOKSELLER, 

No. 78, State-Street. 
E. & E. Hosford ...Printers. 

1812. 






The volume, entitled " Solitude Sweetened ; or, 
Miscellaneous Meditations," by James Meikle, is a 
work which cannot fail to give much pleasure to the 
pious mind. The author discovers a very happy talent 
in deducing from the phenomena of nature, and from 
the ordinary occurrences of life, much religious in- 
struction, which he conveys in an animated and pleas- 
ing style. We should be glad to see an American edi- 
tion of this work, and are persuaded, that if its worth 
were known, such an edition would meet with general 
encouragement. 

SAMUEL MILLER, 
JOHN B. ROMEYN. 
M%v-York y Dec. 18, 1809. 



We, the subscribers, cordially recommend to the de- 
vout perusal of all Christians,' the practical work of 
James Meikle, entitled " Solitude Sweetened ;" and 
sincerely hope that a second American Edition, which 
is contemplated, may receive iiberal patronage. 

CORNELIUS BOGARDUS 
Pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church, Schenectady 
ALEXANDER MONTE. T I, 
Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Schenextudr. 
Schenectady, February , I81L 



PREFACE 

TO THE- 

FIRST EDITION. 



T. 



HE Meditations now offered to the Public appear 
in consequence of the very favourable manner in which 
the Author's " Select Remains" were received. 
They < re written in the same style, and breathe the 
same spirit of ardent piety with the Remains ; but they 
embrace a greater variety of subjects, are in general 
composed with greater care, and will, the Editor is 
persuaded, be found entitled to an equal, if not a supe- 
rior degree of acceptance. 

The greater part of them was written in the years 
1757 — 1760, in the most unfavourable circumstances 
which can easily be conceived for study of any kind, and 
especially for religious meditation ; not, like the 
14 Monthly Memorial," and the " Secret Survey/' 
amidst the quiet and comforts of home, in the retire- 
ment of the country, and during the intervals of leisure. 
from the regular duties of his profession ; but at sea ? 
amidst the noise, and bustle, and confusion of a man of 
war. A book written during hostilities, on board a ship 
of war, may be considered as a literary curiosity ; but 
this is perhaps the first bock of devotion ever composed 
in such circumstances. It may justly excite surprise, 
how the good man could find opportunity, or command 
composure of mind, in the cock-pit of the Portland, for 
writing not only the greater part of the present volume, 
but another series of Meditations, entitled, The Travel- 
ler ; and it must be particularly pleasing to pious minds, 
to observe his steadfastness in the faith unshaken, and 
the ardour of his devotion undiminished, during a pe- 
riod of several years spent in a state of exclusion fraoi 



IV PREFACE. 

the ordinances of religion, and in the society of persons 
ignorant of God. How " his righteous soul was vexed 
from day to day, in seeing and hearing, with their un- 
lawful deed;i," and to what ridicule he was exposed 
from his ungodly companions, on account of his reli- 
gion, are apparent from many expressions in his medi- 
tations ; yet he persevered in his course, frequently sei- 
zed, when other opportunities failed, the midnight-hour 
for prayer and meditation, and " out of the belly of hell 
cried unto his God." 

Two manuscripts have been found of the meditations 
composed at sea, both written by the Authors own hand. 
The first, which is the original draught, and which, 
owing to the rolling of the ship, and other inconvenien- 
ces of his situation, is not very legible, is entitled by 
him, a A Mirror to the Sons of Affliction, by one who 
# fincls by experience, that it is better to go to the house 
of n ourriing than the house of mirth " The second, 
which has been chiefly followed in this edition, is a 
transcript of the former, but in a fairer hand, and with 
such corrections as occurred to the Author in his pro- 
gress. This he appears to have begun in the year 1769, 
some time alter his settlement in Carnwath ; and hav- 
ing altered the title to that which the volume now bears, 
continued to add-* during the remainder of his life, ^uch 
meditations as appeared to him to correspond with the 
general title. 

In a note prefixed to the manuscript, the Author says, 

" Fond of being at sea, he engaged to go in a ship 

that had a long voyage in view ; but the scheme mis- 
gave, which gave ium pain, and made him write Med. 
XI. The disappointment turned out a piece or kindness. 
O how blind is man i O how kind is heaven 1 In the 
Royai Navy, in time ot war he wrote several of them. 
A groundless slander hurtful to him, though not of an 
immoral nature, was the occasion of his writing Med. 
XVIII. As what has happened to him may befai others, 
he hopes these few meditations, written for his own 
use, maybe useful and acceptable to serious souls." 

The Editor entertaining the same hopes, recom- 
mends thein to the blessing of God, and to the accept- 
ance of the sa:nts. He hop, s that the reception of 
the present volume will give encouragement to the 



PREFACE. 



speedy publication of the other series of meditations, 
styled, The Traveller; to which, if God will, shall 
be prefixed, a Memoir of the Author's life, collected 
chiefly from the numerous manuscripts which he has 
left behind him. 



JAMES PEDDIE. 



Edinburgh, , 
JVov. 25, 1803J 



CONTENTS. 

Med it. Page 

1 On meditation, - « - - - - - IS 

2 Christ the Rock in the weary land, - 14 
3. If G<->d give Christ, what can he withhold, - - 16 

4 Submission, 17 

5 Comfortable conclusions, ------ 18 

6 Resignation, ..„_.-... 21 

7 Feeble nature, --------23 

8. Worldly losses and misfortunes universal, - . - 24 

9 Providence, 26 

10 True greatness, - 27 

11 Disappointments, ib. 

12 Experience, -------- 30 

13 Contentment, --------31 

14 Death, - - 33 

16 Communion with God, what it is, - - - - 35 

16 The disposal of Providence always best, - 37 

17 Love in i'.s fourfold extension, ----- 3& 

18. Slander, 40 

19 Fear and other passions, 42 

20- Urn versa 1 improvement, - - - 44 

2 . The soul's enlargement on high, 45 

22 AiB;ction the lot of saints below, - 46 

23 Private experience, - - -- - - - 50 

24. All plenitude in Christ, to answer all the wants of his people, 51 

25 Prayer and praise, -------53 

26 On a blind beggar, - 56 

27 Love in saints, 57 

28 Love in God, - - 61 

29 Dissolution, 64 

3u The death of the wicked, 66 

31 The Traveller, 68 

32 Grace in the blush, sin not ashamed, - 70 
3;"> Going to a fair, 7$ 

34 After sickness, -- 75^ 

35 Frames of soul variable, ... 76 

36 The unconcerned spectators 79 

37 Death a blessing to good men, - - - - - 80 

38 Mercy going before God, makes meeting him a mercy, 81 

39 The necessity of afflictions, - - - -..,.- 82 
40. Saints unknown, stars unseen, - - - . 84- 

41 The excellent happiness of the blessed, 86 

42 Onlv a rumor heard of the triumphant state* 

43. Philosophy, 89 

4i A wicked thing to depart from God in the least, 

45. Who the great man is ------ 94 

46. We sh uid sleep no longer than to refresh the body, 

47 Our only joy in view of the world to come, 98 

48. On the scriptures, - 100 

49. True joy, ........ 102 

50. One fruit of affliction, 133 

51. From the depth of afSictions we see stupendous things, l.ftf 



CONTENTS. VU 

Med: Page. 

52. Prayer* 107 

53 Little known of the bliss above, - 108 

54 The divine lover, ------- 1,9 

55. Eternity, Ill 

36 On loving God, - 113 

57 Wrath, - - - -114 

58 Sensible communion with God sometimes enjoyed, 1 15 

59 Brevity of life, 117 

60. On the last day of a year, ----- 119 

61. Saints have the greatest reason to rejoice, - - - 121 

62 Indwelling sin, 123 

63 Events of providence, 126 

64. More of God seen in Christ than in all the creation, 128 

65. God in Christ the study above, ------ 129 

66 The world asleep, 130 

67. Still ignorant of God below, 132 

68 Nothing can purchase Christ from the soul, - - 1 :>3 

69 Torment, - - .--.-. 134 

70. The soul's growth, 135 

71 This lire a vale of tears, - ... J^3 

72. The madness of the world in their choice, - - 140 

72. The approaching happiness of the saints, - - 142 

74. What we should expect and wait for, - - - 143 

75 The spiritual miser, 144 

76 Contradictions, 145 

77 The confusion of the wicked at the general judgment, 146 

78 Mercies abused, 148 

79. The forgiveness f injuries, 149 

80 The excellency of religion, - - - - - 1 52 

8i Christ, and none but he, satisfieth desires, - - 1,54 

82 The aggrandizing visit, - v - - - 156 

83 Causes of Humility, 158 

84 Harmony in God's procedure with the church, both of the 

Old and New Testament, - - 160 

85 A pleasant consideration, 162 

86. Crucifixion, 164 

87 All God's vv avs equal, 165 

88 Self-flatterers", - - 166 

89 he heavenly vision assimilating, - - - 168 
90. Still cle-ciiptions fall short of glory, - 170 

91 >aints honorable, 171 

92 Mercies, though -apparently delayed come at the appoint- 

ed time, 173 

> The world deep rooted in the affections, - - - 174 

94 True riches, - - - 176 

95 The casting of the scales 01 balances, - - - 177 

96 Affliction the common lot of the saints, - - . 179 

97 The glorious frujjfjg of sanctified affliction, - - 181 

98 God his people's inlieritar.ee, - 184 

99 Disance diminishes views, 186 

Jubilee, ■ - 187 



Vlii CONTENTS. 

Med. Page. 

11 God's knowledge, - 189 

102 Tht Sabbath, - 191 

113. Elijah and Elisha, a dialogue, 194 

104 The company of the wicked corrupts, - 196 

105 To escape wrath should silence under all afflictions, 198 

106. Adoption, 199 

107. Connexions, 202 

108. Degrees of nearness to God, . - - 205 
309- Unbelief, 206 

110. Our short life should not give much concern, - 209 

111. Faith, 211 

112. The three-fold state, -.---- 214 

113. Corruption, - 217 

114 Grace, ib. 

115 Love and Immortality - 219 

116 Extremities, - 220 

117. The astonishing portions, 223 

118. Noah's ark, 224 

119. Acquaintance, - - 226 

120. An argument, 229 

121 On being ill-used, 230 

122. The Bible a store-house of instruction, ... 232 

123. Assurance, 234 

124 Our medita- ions cramped, unless stretched beyond death, 236 

125 How to be rich in heaven, 237 

12 . Revenge rejected, 241 

127. Whitsunday, 246 

128 Against murmuring at misfortunes, - - - 249 
129. A caveat against excess of joy in prospect of any crea- 
ted good, 250 

130 The joy of salvation, 252 

131 On visi'ts, 254 

132 TJjfc anguish of damnation, .... 256 

133. Sovereignty, - - - - - - - - 257 

134. The victory of Faith, 2^9 

155 The necessity of afflictions while we live, - - 269 

136 Gibeon rciaking peace with Israel, ... 261 

137 On the author's first using glasses, - 264 
158 On casting our care on God, - - - - i66 

139. The affection of a parent, 268 

140. On being created a peer, «... - 270 

141. The singular advantages of poverty, - - - 279 

142. A journey along the sea shore, - 286 

143 British state lottery* - - - - - » - 291 

144 On the works of creation, 294 

145 A prospect of death, S05 

146 A state alter death, 307 

147. A glance at the glories on the other side creation, 308 









SOLITUDE SWEETENED. 



MEDITATION I. 

ON MEDITATION. 

A HE heavenly meditant has the happiest life in 
tnc world, and the most enriching commerce with, 
the celestial Indies, from whence he returns loaden 
with an unseen store of immortal joy, and spiritual 
consolation. As he continues to meditate on the 
great things of God, such amazing plenitudes are 
displayed before his eye, that he finds in the divine 
Fulness sufficient subjects for meditation through 
eternity itself. Meditation, like the spies sent from 
Israel in the wilderness, returns with a good ac- 
count of the good land, presents some of the fruits 
of paradise, and produces refreshing grapes pulled 
from the true Vine. Here the weary soul retires to 
rest in the bosom of the promise, in the love of God, 
in spite of all surrounding troubles; and drinks at 
the river before the throne, which makes her forget 
her miseries, as waters that flow away. O the high 
estate of the sons of God in meditation ! They walk 
in the fields of glory, associate with the angels of 
light, and hold communion with God himself. Thus 
having been in the mount with God, their soul is 
beautified ; thus, their face shines, and their con- 
versation seems as if in heaven, nobly opposing the 
base practices of the men of the world. 

O my soul ! while mortals are combating for 
crowns below, meditate thou on thy crown above ; 
view the beauties of the better country ; ruminate on 
the happiness of the inhabitants there ; think on the 
fulness of the heavenly glory; talk of the love oi : 
God, and dwell on the adorable excellencies of the 
divine Redeemer. This work is its own reward 
B 



14 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

and assimilates the soul to " the bright and morning 
Star." Be ashamed henceforth to occupy thyself in 
meditating how to raise thy fortune, how to make 
thyself famous, and how to plan thy lot in the world ; 
this last commit to God, and cast the rest away: But 
let him, whose favour is better than life, be the ob- 
ject of thy love, and the subject of thy meditation ! 
Thus shalt thou begin heaven, anticipate bliss, and 
prepare for eternity and glory. 

MEDITATION II. 

CHRIST THE ROCK IN THE WEARY LAND. 

Let the travellers through the parched deserts of 
Arabia, tell how comforting the shadow of a cloud 
is, that diminishes the heat in a dry place. Let the 
travelling companies of Dedanim tell what it is to 
hide their scorched shoulders from the burning sun 
in the shadow of a rock. How much greater reason 
have I to boast of my Rock ! for their rock is not as 
our rock^ even our enemies themselves being judges. 
From his pierced side the fountain of life flows, that 
pours refreshment into my panting soul. Here I 
have not only shadow from the heat, but shelter from 
the storm, when the blast of the terrible one is as a 
storm against £he wall. 

What is firmer than a rock ? Winds may rend the 
cedars of Lebanon, and tear them up by their roots : 
but here the tempests beat, and are baffled ; the bil- 
lows dash, and are broken ; time hovers, and corrodes 
not the flinty mass. Nevertheless, they are not proof 
against every invasion from destruction and ruin. 
For see, the enraged thunders rend their towering 
tops, and angry earthquakes toss them from their 
seats, while the earth beneath opens fearful, and 
hides the ponderous heaps. But; my Rock shall stand 
fast for ever, when the foundations of the earth are 
moved, and the pillars of heaven tremble. There 
shall I be safe, when the hail shall sweep away the 
refuges of lies ; yea, when God shall rain on sin- 
ners snares, fire, and brimstone, in the furious storm 
of wrath, I shall sing in safety, being an inhabitant 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 15 

of the Rock of ages, from which I never shall re- 
move. No wonder, then, that the saint of God shout 
for joy, being an inhabitant on high, and having for 
his place of defence the munition of rocks. Some- 
times, indeed, the blind world is ready to allege, 
that their rock has sold them, and that if God were 
their God, surely he would awake for them ; and in 
this they are strengthened, when they see martyrs 
guarded, through bemoaning crowds, to execution ; 
some to the gibbet, and others to the sea-mark ; 
some to the rack, and others to the fire ; but then 
their divine Comforter invisibly attends, and he 
whose form is like the son of God walks with them 
amidst the fire, and fans away the flame. This is the 
Rock from which I am filled with honey, the Rock 
that pours me out rivers of oil. 

Do rocks defend me from blasts, from whatever 
quarter they blow ? So does my Rock.— Is the blast 
from hell ? Well, he has the keys of hell and of death, 
— Is it from sin ? He is my righteousness. — Is it from 
Satan ? He has conquered principalities and powers. 
Is it from afilictions ? He is my sympathising and 
feeling High Priest. — Is it from losses ? He is my 
exceeding great reward. — Is it from crosses ? He 
makes all things work together for good to his peo- 
ple. — Is it from anguish ? He is my joy. — Is it from 
darkness ? He is my Sun. — Is it from doubts ? He is 
my Counsellor. — Is it from deadness ? He is my 
life. — Is it from enemies I He is my shield. — Is 
it from temptation ? He is my deliverer. — Is it from 
false friends ? He will never leave me, nor forsake 
me. — Is it from solitude or banishment? He is eve- 
ry where present. — Is it from disease ? He is my 
healer. — Is it from death ? He is the resurrection 
and the life. — O glorious refuge ! O sure defence I 
O everlasting munition ! Here do I defy the worst 
that earth and hell can do. Henceforth will I taber- 
nacle, by faith, in the Man that is made of God an 
hiding-place from the storm, a covert from the tem- 
pest, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, 
till every blast blow over, not a threatening cloud 
appear in my sky, but my heaven be beautified with 
everlasting day, and the air in which I breathe be 
swept of every storm. 



*G SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

MEDITATION IIL 

IF GOD GIVE CHKIST, WHAT CAN HE WITHHOLD f 

1757. 

Are believers in the valley of tears ? Is their 
dwelling-place Bochim and Hadadrimmon ? Well, 
mercy outstretches all their misery, promises of 
grace dispel the mental gloom, and bear away the 
ponderous loads of grief, and the soft handkerchief 
of love wipes off the furrowing tear ; while an in- 
spired penman begins the glorious sentence with an 
unanswerable how : " If God spared not his own 
Son, but delivered him up to the death for us all, how 
shall he not also with him give us all things ?" Com- 
fort, then, ye sons of sorrow ; comfort, my soul ; 
there is more in this verse than can be comprehend- 
ed : and there is more love in the heart of God, than 
any language, or idiom of Speech, can convey to 
finite creatures. 

If, for my sake, he has given his Son, what will 
he withhold in all the creation ? Is the breath of his 
mouth better to him than his eternal, co-essential 
Son ? Is the work of his hands dearer to him than 
his well-beloved bosom Son ? And has he given him 
to the death for thee, and yet will deny thee the use 
of these ? No. He that feeds the soul with heaven- 
ly manna, will support the body with daily bread. 
He that gives to diink out of the welis of salvation, 
will not fail to afford a cup of cold water. He that 
hath provided a robe of righteousness, that the 
shame of my nakedness do not appear, will also give 
wool in the season thereof. — He that harnesses mine 
inner man with all the armour of God, will put a 
covering on my head in the day of battle and war.* 
He that, in the counsel of peace, from eternity, se- 
cured my peace, will also shine upon my counsel, 
and make me decree a thing which shall come to 
pass. He that hath written my name among the 
living in Jerusalem, will also preserve, (this my faith 
pleads and expects,) my character, that I shall not 

* At this time the Author had a view of entering into the nt* 
vy, beii>g time of war, as lie did some time after. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. IT 

shame what I profess in the world. He that hath 
destroyed spiritual death, will also for me unsting 
natural death, and spoil the grave of its victory. 

Again, how can it be possible that God should 
give his Son, himself, his all, and yet deny me 
any thing ? Will not he that is to crown me with 
glory above, strengthen me with grace below I Will 
he not bless me with peace of mind, who is to be my 
peace for ever ? Triumph, O my faith ! all tilings 
are Christ's, and Christ is God's: and God, Christ, 
and all things, are thine. Time is his, and in it I 
have my numbered years ; the air is his, and in it I 
breathe ; the world, and on it I dwell ; its fulness, 
and I am fed ; grace is his, and in it I stand ; faith, 
and by it I overcome the world; tribulations are 
from him, and in them 1 glory ; perfection is his, 
and towards it I press ; death is his, and by it I ar- 
rive at home ; heaven is his, and there is my man- 
sion ; eternity is his, and there is my treasure and 
glory. 



MEDITATION IV. 

SUBMISSION. 

Will any, or will I, pretend to teach the Most 
High, knowledge, seeing he is excellent in working, 
and perfect in his ways ? Then since I cannot direct 
him, why am not I submissive to his disposal ? Can 
I predict events, or foresee futurities ? No ; how 
then should I promise myself serenity from a cloud- 
less sky ? or fear storms from an obscured heaven ? 
when, as to the first, the gathering meteors may sus- 
pend an unexpected umbra before the sun, and draw 
a liquid curtain round the sky ; or, as to the second, 
the gathered clouds may scatter, and let the welcome 
beams refresh the wear)r world. So, Lord, as from 
present appearances future contingencies cannot be 
discerned, it is my duty, and shall be my study, to 
be wholly, fully, and for ever, at thy disposal, 
to whom all thy works, all my purposes, and all my 
wanderings, are known from the beginning. 

O ! how the child of God should glory in his 
B 2 



JS SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OA r 

choosing out for him the lot of hrs inheritance, and 
be content with that condition which Heaven ac- 
counts best for him, though not the grandest or 
greatest, not the richest or happiest ; yea, not that 
state the most desired. I am not mine own, for I 
am bought with a price, and dearly paid for too, (so 
to speak.) Would it not seem too daring in me to 
instruct God how to garnish the heavens, how to set 
the sun, station the moon, place the poles, plant the 
fixed stars, and guide the wandering planets ? Now , 
lam as much his by right, (yea, in the ties of love, 
more,) and as much at his disposal, as any of these 
his other creatures ; and if I cannot complain of his 
conduct with these, why quarrel at his providences 
towar_d me ? But another thing which ought to en- 
courage to submission, is, that God's way is not on- 
ly equitable in itself, but profitable for his people, 
for the latter end of the righteous is peace ; and the 
end of the Lord is always gracious to his afflicted 
ones, who chooses in the furnace of affliction, brings 
light out of darkness, order out of confusion, real 
good out of seeming evil ; and, finally, brings through 
fire and water to a wealthy place. 



MEDITATION V. 

COMFORTABLE CONCLUSIONS. 

Dear Saviour, in thy sufferings I not only see the: 
inCniteness of sin, but also the infiniteness of thy 
love; so that, though I have cause with myself to 
be angry on account of sin, I need not despair. If 
the desert of my folly be death, the merit of thy 
sufferings is life. If my sins mount up to heaven,, 
thy mercy is above the heavens. Though they reach 
to the very throne to accuse me, there is One upon 
the throne that will not condemn me. They, in 
their seven-fold abominations, can rise no higher 
than the throne, but the rainbow of redeeming love 
and grace is both about and above the throne, and 
that in its seven-fold beauties, power, wisdom, jus- 
tice, goodness, houness, mercy, and truth. And as 
all the different rays meet in one glorious beam of 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 19 

light, so all the attributes, all the perfections of God, 
are summed up in love, who is graciously pleas- 
ed to be called by it as his favorite name, u God is 
love I" By the mingling rays of this beauteous bow, 
all my blackness is removed, and I am clothed with 
beauty. 

When I look to myself, and see my vileness and 
wants, I am confounded with shame ; but when I 
look to thee, and see thy fulness and all-sufficiency, 
I am confounded with wonder 1 — Am I weak ? He 
is my strength. — Am I foolish I He is made of Qod 
wisdom to me. — Am I wicked? He is made my 
righteousness-^— Am I impure I He is made my 
sanctification. — Am I in bondage ? He is made my 
complete redemption. — Am I in misery I From him 
tender mercy flows. — Do I falsify ? Yet his promise 
is the very truth. — In a word ; am I enmity itself? 
Then he is love itself that passes understanding. 
Mine is but the enmity of a creature, but his love is 
the love of God. 

Sin may raise the tempest of wrath, but can do no 
more ; but Christ not only calms the raging tempest, 
but gives peace of conscience, flowing from intima- 
tions of peace with God, and makes me heir of all 
things ; so where sin hath abounded, grace much 
more abounds ; where misery hath surrounded me,, 
mercy hath crowned me. Sin is too strong for me, 
but thy grace is too strong for sin. Why, then, so 
vexed with fears, doubts, and unbelief? Because I 
am sinful 1 On that very account, Christ, who knew 
no sin, was made sin, that I, who knew no right- 
eousness, might be made the righteousness of God 
in him. — But I am a great sinner. Then, he is a 
Saviour, and a great One. Where is boasting row, 
soui ? See, that it is great mercy in God, great mer- 
it in Christ, that saves a great sinner. Since rich 
and free grace builds the tempie of salvation let it 
bear all the glory. — But I fan often into the same, 
sin. That is my failing, over which I ought to 
mourn, and by which I should be driven out of all 
conceit with mine own holiness, high attain tr.ents,- 
and religious duties, and cry, with tears of holy joy, 
Grace, grace to him that has laid, the fcundation 5 



ZO SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OK, 

carries on the fabric of redemption, and will, with 
shouting, bring fonth the copestone. — Now, law, 
what hast thou to do with me r Turn thee over to 
my Surety, Jesus. O curse 1 thou hast lighted on 
his head, that the blessing might rest on mine I 
Tli<p brandished sword of justice is beat into the 
pruniifg-hook of the promise, that I may even plead 
justice for the blessing, as well as the performance 
of the promise. 

Though once I durst not lift mine eyes heaven- 
ward, for fear of divine wrath, yet now I may come 
boldly to the throne of grace, and claim the blessings 
of his purchase. 

In hue, it is the interest of the Son of God that I 
be saved. Though he had no concern for my im- 
mortal soul, yet he is jealous over his own glory, 
and will not cast his honour away, the honour of his 
equity, the honour of his love, the honour of his 
merits, and the honour of his word of promise, all 
which are concerned in my salvation. Nothing could 
hinder him to love me ; what then shall make him 
hate me, seeing his love is stronger than death ? He 
loved me when I was in a state of enmity ; and now, 
when I am reconciled, will he be angry with me, 
now when I love him who first loved me ? His love 
found me when I was wandering from him ; and will 
he abandon me now when I am looking after him 
that seeth me ? When I was altogether sin, he had 
mercy on me ; and will he now take vengeance upon 
me, when I am mourning over sin, and grieved 
that I offend him ? I had no claim, no qualification, 
that could cause his love to descend on me, and abide 
with me ; but love, in sovereignty, visited me, and 
in sovereignty will dwell with me for ever; and 
though I sin his presence away, I shall never sin 
away his love, nor his presence altogether; for he 
shall appear the second time without sin imputed, 
and deliver me from sin inherent. Then, sin may 
be my burden, but shall not be my bane. Yet shall 
I never willingly let the traitor rest in my breast, 
that would persuade all my soul into rebellion against 
my dearest Lord, and best friend. I may have con- 
tinual war with the invader, but shall obtain the vie- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. %l 

f&Yy at last ; meanwhile, I will grieve more for of- 
fending him whose name is Love, by my sin, than for 
the desertions, doubts, clouds, afflictions, and chas- 
tisements that may thereby seize me. 

Now, with the arms of my faith, I clasp about the 
promise, and about him in the promise ; then, where- 
fore should unbelief, like the officious servant of the* 
man of God, come near to thrust me away ? Here will 
I live and here will I die, blessing God, who causeth 
me always to triumph in Jesus Christ my Lord, 



MEDITATON VI. 

RESIGNATION. 

What I most desired thou hast denied, yet I 
praise thee : On what account, I know not, yet I 
praise thee : Thou hast done it ; that silences me. 
Thy will makes it indisputable, and renders it my 
indispensable duty to fall in with it. Hitherto I have 
had no complaint on the conduct of providence ; nor 
shall i complain till all the mazes are explained. 
Do, then, all thy counsel, though all my counsels 
should come to nought. Can he expect favors from 
God^ that will not wait God's way and time ? 

But what matters it how the affairs of a present 
world go, if the interests of the next world are se- 
cured ? The weather-cock is whirled about with eve- 
ry blast, but the iron spire is still at rest, and it is 
alike to it from what point the wind blows, because 
it cannot be displaced. So, what avails it though the 
outward man decay, if the inner man grow ? though 
the temporal condition be perplexed, if the con- 
science be possessed of spiritual peace ? I praise 
thee that thou interposest thy providence, even in 
disappointing my enterprises ; and dost not give me 
up to the blind desires of mine own heart, and to 
wander at random in counsels of mine own. I can 
resolve the present case into nothing but thy will ; 
yet I rejoice more to fall in with thy will, and to be 
submissive to thy disposal, than to have my will in 



22 solitude sweetened; or, 

every point performed. This is the only way in my 
private capacity that I can glorify thee. 

If all things went as I would, I could not positive- 
ly learn the care of God ; but when providence, be- 
yond all human probability^ twists enterprises out of 
fny hands, and well-resolved designs out of my 
heart, this conduct clearly shows to me thy conde- 
scending concern about my lot and life. Thus thou 
takest the wise in their own craftiness ; for when all 
my schemes were so well laid, that human policy 
approved of, and wit itself commended ; yet, when 
thou didst blow upon them, how did they, like rain- 
bows painted on the watery clouds, when thunders 
break, or boisterous winds attack, scatter into dis- 
appointments and pain ! Hence in the school of 
providence I am taught some lessons: 1. Not to 
look to the appearance of things, but to the power 
of God, who brings light out of darkness, and calls 
the things that be not, as though they were. 2. That 
from probabilities impossibilities may spring, while 
apparent impossibilities dissolve into easy escapes. 
As for the first, it was very probable that the Egyp- 
tians might overtake and put Israel to the sword, 
yet it became impossible for ihcm to do it. And as 
for the second, it seemed impossible that Israel 
could escape ruin, when inclosed with insurmounta- 
ble hills, and swelling seas, and pursued by enraged 
foes ; yet, in what an easy way did they walk to their 
deliverance ! 3, I am taught 10 believe, and to give 
glory to the almighty power of God; when impossi- 
bilities throng thick before me. 4. To see mine own 
finite wisdom to be but ioily, that I can neither pre- 
vent nor foresee those events which I would not in- 
cline should come. 5. To hold all my mercies, ail my 
privileges from God, and not from the certainty in 
which they seem to stand. 6. Not to think that 
things are lost, when so they seem, as I am taught by 
experience, that when I think I am most sure of some 
things, they are all on a sudden rapt from me ; so 
when lost, they can all of a sudden be restored. And, 
lastly, to see the mutable and fickle state of temporal 
things, and therefore to hold a loose gripe of the crea- 
ture, however dear, however near, and t© set my af- 
fections on things that are above. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS* 2$ 



MEDITATION VII. 



FEEBLE NATURE, 

Oh ! how do I groan in this body of clay, this clog 
of humanity ! When I would serve God with glad- 
ness, feeble nature hinders me ; my strength is ex- 
hausted, and I must be again refreshed with sleep. 
Though grace had not sin to fight against, it has in- 
firmity to struggle with ; and I have no way of gefer 
ting comfort under my calamities of this kind, which 
are so many, but by beholding with the eye of faith, 
through the prospect of revelation, the glories of 
the world above, when this mortal shall put on im* 
mortality, and death shall be swallowed up of life. 
There my weary eyes shall never seek to be re- 
freshed with sleep, amidst the engaging glories of 
the higher house ! The mirth of this world, like an 
enchantress, lulls men asleep to everlasting destruc- 
tion ; but the songs of the inner temple rouse to all 
eternity. With the strength of an angel shall I step 
along the hills of glory, and walk over the paradise 
of God. With greater ease shall I go on with the 
highest acts of adoration, than here give over the 
©rdinary acts of devotion ; for it shall be life to my 
soul, and vigour to all my powers, to be so employ- 
ed! There he that pours the new wine into the 
saints, capacitates, strengthens, and supports the 
soul, to receive the eternal weight of glory. Medi- 
tation shall never tire my thoughts in tracing all the 
mazes of redeeming love 1 Everlasting hallelujahs 
shall dwell on my tongue ; and how shall I improve 
in the song aboye, while I rest not day or night to 
sing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to re- 
ceive glory, and honour, blessing and power, domin- 
ion and praise, for ever and ever." There the un- 
interrupted vision of him, to whom when I see him 
I shall be assimilated, shall strengthen mine eyes, 
that they shall be able to receive the images of all 
the celestial glories. No weariness there, where 
the exercise renders happy. No weakness, where 
fehovah is my strength. No want of subject, where 



24 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

the Lord God and the Lamb are my song i Oh shall 
I be able to sing over God through eternity ? To sing 
his being and attributes, his love and his mercy, his 
righteousness and truth, even a whole God, and a full 
glory ; a consummate happiness, and a continual en- 
joyment ? 

Well then, what though the hours of time steal 
from me unknown ? I rejoice that I shall not lose 
one moment through wearines, while eternity rolls. 
Oh ! may I improve this to prepare for that ; for if 
eternity is not secured ere time be spent, I am un- 
done in both. 

Roll on, thou day of love, to perfect strength in 
my weakness, and crown a poor expectant with eter- 
nal glory. 



MEDITATION VIII. 

WORLDLY LOSSES AND MISFORTUNES UNIVERSAL. 

Convene, ye mournful throng, and vent your 
dreary moans ; muster all your complaints, and re- 
cite the causes of your sorrow. Then hear royalty 
itself break silence first, in the melancholy list, and 
tell in tears, (but dares distress attack the throne, 
and sorrow gloom within the palace-walls ?) how 
courtiers prove perfidious, and rebellious subjects 
would drive him from his throne 1 how his faithful 
armies fly, or fall before the foe 1 while his fleets in- 
crease at once his sorrow and the enemies' spoils. 
Sorrow has a lodging taken in every brow, from the 
king to the beggar; and at one time or other, we 
may expect to see the lodging possessed by all the 
gloomy train. Hence see one sad, under the loss of 
iVis honor and reputation; another mee.ing with 
disappointment instead of preferment; another sel- 
dom out of mourning, so fast his relations die around 
him. Some have neither son nor grand -son in the 
street, daughter nor grand-daughter in the house^ 
There the affectionate wife has lost the husband of 
her youth ; and here the disconsolate mourner has 
interred his lovely spouse, Here so many needy 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 2a 

pensioners are real mourners at the burial of their ben- 
efactors, who can be no more concerned for them ; there 
a tender family are weeping at the grave of both pa- 
rents. Here the packet from the distant Indies, brings 
the melancholy account of father, son, or brother's 
death, who was long expected home, but now shall re- 
turn no |»ore ; there the list of the slain on the day of 
battle, fills many a sad heart with sorrow. Here a sud- 
den misfortune snatches one away in the bloom of life ; 
there another is slain by the bloody ruffian. Here the 
tender suckling dies unseen in the silent night ; and 
there the pretty boy perishes in the water. Here the 
devouring flame robs a man of his all, while some of 
the inhabitants are consumed in the burning ; there the 
fierce tempest sends the merchants 5 treasure into the 
depths of the sea, and the crew go down together. 
Here the barren wife longs to embrace a son ; and there 
another bitterly bewails that ever her's was born. Here 
one loses his good name innocently, and has no method 
to clear it till the clay of judgment ; and there peace is 
taken away from them that should live in daily harmony. 
Here some are oppressed with pinching want; there 
others with pining sickness Some are banished theft* 
native country; others condemned to perpetual impris- 
onment. Some are deformed from their mother's 
womb; others lose their limbs by accidents. There 
sits the blind begging, while the lame is carried from 
door io door. Of some God has tied the tongue, that it 
cannot speak ; of others stopt the ea", that it cannot 
hear. There some deprived of reason, neither rest 
themselves, nor suiter these around them to rest, while 
their case is melancholy above description. In a word, 
what losses and crosses, sorrows and distresses, uncer- 
tainties and anxieties, do mankind labour under ! The 
wisdom that is from above, will le;.d me to expect no- 
thing but vanity and vexation below. But, O ! how- 
happy is the soul that has all his treasure in heaven, all 
his happiness in God ! May this be my case, and then 
1 shall triumph in the midst of losses, distresses, disap- 
pointments, and pain. 

c - 



26 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

MEDITATION IX. 

PROVIDENCE. 

How manifold are the mercies of God, and how sur- 
prising the scene of adorable Providence ! Here wheels 
revolve within a wheel, and all the glorious spokes are 
full of flaming eyes, signifying omniscience and wis- 
dom. Seeming contradictions just conduce *to bring 
about the longed-for blessing. Were all things silent, 
providence aloud proclaims a God ; and to the observ- 
ing eye, the government of the world in general, and 
of men and their affairs of life in particular is not less 
beautiful, is not less surprising, than the creation. — 
What mighty mountains are removed, what stupendous 
difficulties are dissolved, that a plain and easy passage 
may be prepared for the approaching good ! O how is 
my soul delighted with the back-look into my life, and 
ravished with the sweet survey of the conduct of Provi- 
dence ! All mercies are benign and comforting ; but O 
how do some exceedingly surprise ! when I behold the 
instrument or hand by which, the way and manner how, 
end the time when they came. Have I not seen it from 
a hand I expected nothing from, in a way and manner I 
never could have contrived, and at a time when least 
apparent ? Has not holy Providence written a blank on 
my wisdom and prudence, in baffling my enterprises, 
rendering my endeavours abortive, and bringing my 
counsel to nought, that he alone might be exalted ? And 
then, in a way out of my view, foreign to my expecta- 
tion, and without my endeavours, granted the very same 
request I had sought ? Sometimes seeming contradic- 
tions vex the poor expectant, though only sent to exer- 
cise his faith in Gpd> and patience for the performance 
of the promise. I have also seen disappointments mul- 
tiplied. Disappointments not only bring about, but 
beautify the blessing. Sometime providence has hin- 
dered me to embrace an offered favor, when I knew not 
how or why, that to my greater advantage it might be 
afterwards bestowed. 

Thy path, O thou Governor of men and angels ! is in 
the mighty waters, and thy footsteps are not known ; 
for who can know the ways of him who is wonderful ia 
working ? Therefore I approve his conduct, admire his 
goodness, and where I cannot see his end, am silent 
and adoz*e. 



SCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 27 

MEDITATION X. 

TRUE GREATNESS. 

Many are reckoned great by the world, and are of- 
ten envied by their inferiors, who are yet ignorant of 
what renders a man truly great. A courtier, as Ahitho- 
pel, a prince, as Haman, and a king, as Belshazzar, may 
be mean and sordid persons ; for often in the highest 
stations the basest of men are set up. Coaches and 
chariots ; horses and hounds ; many servants, and a num- 
erous retinue; a sumptuous table, and fine apparel ; 
high titles, and honorary posts ; great friends, and noble 
blood ; rich connexions, and immense wealth, do not 
constitute true greatness. It is not getting a staff in 
the field, or a flag in the fleet, being made secretary of 
state, or sent ambassador to foreign courts, that will 
render one great. It is not strength of body, natural 
courage, liberal education, bright parts, or sparkling 
genius, that can make a truly great man. Hence this 
seeming contradiction, yet sterling truth, Great men 
are not always great. Are there, then, great men any 
where to be found ? Yes, though they attract not much 
nctice or regard of men. The holy, humble, self- denied 
soul is such ; — he that lives above the things of time, 
and has his meditation on God, and the things of the in- 
visible world ; that is pleased with a little of the good 
things of time, — can forgive enemies, — pass by affronts, 
•—forget injuries, — repay hatred with love, — rejoice in 
tribulation, — triumph in faith,— have rule over his own 
spirit, — mourn for the sins of the times, — weep over 
his want of conformity to God's law, — tremble at his 
threatenings, — depend on the promises, — bewail his 
omissions, — -repent daily of his sin, — wrestle in prayer, 
and prevail with God, and, Enoch-like, have his conver- 
sation in heaven, and walk with God : — This is he that is 
truly great in the eye of angels, in the eye of God. 

MEDITATION XL 

DISAPPOINTMENTS. 

July j 175?. 
How uncertain are our best-founded expectations 
from created things 1 Nothing seemingly more sure ; the 



28 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR, 

time when, the place where, and the manner how, de- 
signs were to be put in execution, being set by the 
agreement and cuncurrence of every one concerned I 
And yet, in the event, nothing more unsure ! O irre- 
sistible Providence ! How dost thou iaugh at the folly 
of man, whose purblind eye sees nothing to change 
the face of things, till by an unexpected revolution, 
and severe discipline, he is made to know his fallibility 
and blindness! O foolish heart of man, to be fond of 
this or that to excess ! Thou seest the beginning of a 
matter, but not the end ; thou beholdest the outer 
wheel of providence, but considerest not that there is 
an inner wheel, even a wheel in the middle of a wheel, 
which produces scenes unobserved before, scenes 
which finite wisdom never could invent. 

Perhaps the present disappointment, though greatand 
unexpected, is a kind one,* could I with patience wait 
and see the issue ; and, beyond dispute, it is a just one ; 
" for shall not the righteous Judge of all the earth do 
jight V- 

But is my disappointment in the most momentous 
things, or only in matters of inferior concern ? Have I 
got a message from the court of Heaven, that there 
is no salvation forme there r no mercy at the throne ? 
no peace to be expected from him that sits thereon ? 
Nc, no. Then what ails me ? Is not eternal felicity 
secured, a noble panacea, and sufficient antidote against 
the heaviest misfortunes of a deceitful world r What 
avail a faithless flatterer, a falsifying friend, a violated 
promise, a mob of backbiters, disappointment of a 
place, a worldly loss, a broken purpose, a thwarted en- 
terprise, expectation vain, and hope, though a long ex- 
pectant, in the issue bringing forth nothing but wind I 
What avail all these, in compadson of the everlasting 
interests of my immortal soul ? But, if these afflic- 
tions make me miserable, shall I make myself more 
miserable still, by handling the coals that burn me, and 
reading over the register of my misfortunes, which 
will be forgot in eternity, as the waters that flow away. 
How, then, shall I antedate eternity, and anticipate the 
felicity of the world to come, but by forgetting my mis- 
eries in the triumph of faith ; 

* Such it was, indeed, is the author's reflection, 1778, on the 
particular disappointment to which he alludes. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 29 

Moreover, these many turnings, and stupendous me- 
anders of my life, are all squared by the straight line 
of the decree of God, with. whom nothing is crooked. 
The seeming gaps of my lot are but the fulfilment of 
Heaven's design concerning me, and my repeated dis- 
appointments are only the accomplishment of the coun- 
sel of God. 

Besides, who can tell what Heaven has in reserve foi* 
me ? It is good to wait on God, and expeci good at his 
hand. " Ah !" says unbelief, " nothing at present ap- 
pears." Hush I thou atheistical monster, wilt thou 
limit Omnipotence, or allege, that infinite wisdom is 
nonplussed, and Almighty power not able to perform ? 
I shall yet see his kindness large as my faith, and his 
mercy measure with my widest expectations. May I 
never get the desire of my heart but with God's bles- 
sing, nor the request of my lips but with his good will. 

This is, indeed, consolation to me, that no sinister 
views stare ghastly in my face, when so many strug- 
gling thoughts pass through my suffering heart. If 
my sin be a sin of ignorance, pardon me, and show me 
wherefore thou contendest with me. — But, perhaps my 
heart was too much set on my favorite desire, which, 
though lawful in itself, might by that become unlawful. 
So iftsop hugged his child to death, out of too much 
fondness. Then let me keep within the due bounds of 
esteem henceforth to every thing below, and take a 
loose hold of all earthly things, that when they are 
twisted out of my hand, they may not torment my heart. 

But why disquieted, my sou' ? Why uneasy stiil ? 
Recal thy past life, and lay it down before thee, and 
mark, if thou canst, when thou hadst any reason to 
complain of Heaven's procedure towards thee. Have 
not things, which, at their first appearance, seemed ad- 
verse like this, turned out at last for good ? Say, when 
thou reviewest the whole, say, if thou darest, if ever 
God dealt ill with thee ! No ; every providence will 
prove the contrary ; every mercy will aver It ; yea, ev- 
ery change of life, every crook of lot will seal it. 

But, seeing this is thy work, O God ! the effect of 

thine ever-equal will, I ought not only to be dumb, but 

rejoice in it, and be glad in what thou hast wrought, 

however it appear to me, and wonder that thou shouldst 

C 2 



3.0 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR, 

concern thyself with me, so as to disappoint my ignor- 
ant designs, (such may my schemes, plans, and enter- 
prises be.) Hence I bless thee for all that befais me, if 
I have not a sinful hand in it; and, if I have, I plead 
for pardon through Christ's meritorious name. 

Now, I rest, and am composed, and calmly wait on 
thee, resigned to Heaven's determination, in every- 
thing concerning me in time, till I arrive at that bet- 
ter country, at that perfect state, where there is neither 
disappointment nor pain. 



MEDITATION XII. 

EXPERIENCE. 

How good is it to wait on God, and bode kindness at 
his hand ! When hope is gone, and all endeavours ren- 
dered useless, his watchful providence giants me my 
request, opens a door for me, ana 1 does all that I desire. 
O how 1 admire the kindness of his' love, and the wise 
disposal of his providence ! When disappointments 
thronged thick on me, I knew not what to think, or 
what to do ; but through thy grace, I waited for thy 
counsel^ and have not waited in vain. Thy time, thy 
way, thy method, are the best, who clearly seest through 
dark scenes, and knowest my frame, and better what 
suits it, than the deepest penetration of my heart ever 
can. 

Now, when I have for many years as it were, tried 
the dispensation of providence, what have I to say against 
it? Nothing. For, what at first appeared dark and in- 
tricate, in a little was clear and intelligible ; yea, some- 
times that scene which seemed most gloomy on the out- 
er wheel, when the inner wheel revolved, shone most 
glorious, even to astonishment ; so that, what has in the 
beginning extorted desponding thoughts from me, has 
in the end excited me to songs of praioe. 

In the part of my life that is already past, and in the 
scenes of providence that are already cleared up, 1 cheer- 
fully confess, and sing, He hath done all things well. 
This is confirmed to me by the experience of many 
years ; so that I may blush, when I see some of the mys- 
ieries of providence in part unriddled, that I have ha& 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 51 

such low apprehensions of the love and goodness of 
God, measuring bis wisdojra by rny shallow comprehen- 
sion, his power by my crampee span, his io-ve by my un- 
belief; his goodness by my evil eye, and his ways wieh 
me by my ways with him ; yea,l have oeen base enough, 
in every new scene of providence, to fall anew into the 
same sin, and subject myself anew unto the same shame 
and blushing. 

" Experience is the schoolmaster of fools," says the 
proverb ; but what a fool must I be, who will not be 
instructed by all I have seen ! Or why should I have one 
hard thought of the circumstances with which I am at 
present entangled ? Though in many things I have yet 
the dark, and not the bright side of the cloud towards 
me, yet I should not have the least hard conclusion on 
the conduct of unerring Providence, but wait till it be 
accomplished, and cleared up to me. But how shall 
I blush, (were it possible,) and be confounded at my 
mean thoughts of God and his providence, when the 
wandering labyrinth that composed my life shall be un- 
riddled in the noon -day of glory, to my unspeakable joy, 
and everlasting admiration. As I cannot recall these 
doubts that now distract my breast, to convert them in- 
to acts of faith ; nor these murmurings to hush them 
into silent resignation ; I should study now to glorify 
God in the deepest valley of misery, and darkest night 
of adversity, by thinking highly and honourably of him 
who governs both heaven and earth. Finally, how 
sweet must that day be to my soul, when my experience 
shall confirm and confess the kind end of every provi- 
dence ; and providence shall sweetly explain and accom- 
plish the promise; and all shall join in one voice for 
ever. Not one good thing hath failed of all that the 
JLord hath spoken. 



MEDITATION XIII. 

CONTENTMENT. 

What wouldst thou have, O my soul i to make theft 
content ? Thou hast much in hand, and more in hope V 
Thou hast the comforts of life, and the means of salva- 
tion j the word preached, and fche sacraments dispen- 



S3 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

seel ; aii open vision, and an English Bible. Thou hast 
the possession of the iife that now is, and the promise 
of that which is to come. If thou art not so happy as 
some, thou art not so miserable as others. If there are 
many in an higher and better state in the world than 
thou, (and shouldst thou quarrel ?) there are more in a 
lower and worse condition, (and shouldst not thou won- 
der ?) 

If thou get bread to eat, and raiment to put on, any 
thing with a blessing, it is much, seeing thou deservest 
to be fed with the curse. It is mercy that thou art an 
inhabitant of God's earth, who mightest have been a 
prisoner in the pit of devouring fire. Thou hast cause 
of cordial exultation, that God is not as yet inexorable ; 
and it may content thee in any condition, that God doth 
not contend with thee for ever. Art thou not ashamed 
to wish for much, when thou hast forfeited all ? Wouldst 
thou have the better part here, and the blessed portion 
hereafter ? the nether-springs of earthly comforts, and 
the upper-springs of heavenly consolation ? Must thou 
be served of Mammon, that thou mavest serve God ? 
And must thou be hired with earthly felicity, to accept 
of heavenly glory? No, Lord, thou thyself, thy love 
alone, shall content me forever; for any thing is too 
much for me, who deserve nothing ; a crumb of mercy 
is a rich banquet to me, who am a bankrupt at law. 
What matters it how I fare at the kings gate, since I 
am the man whom the king delighteth to honor ; and 
shall in a little, with mirth on every side, be brought 
into the king's palace, there to abide for ever ? Sure- 
ly, then, his time 4 can never be bitter who has the hopes 
of an happy eternity ; nor can crosses greatly vex that 
soul that is crucified to the world, and the world to him : 
nor has he any loss to fear who has his treasures in eter- 
nity ; neither can misfortunes impoverish him who is 
an heir of the true riches ; nor the death of friends dis- 
tress him whose best friend lives for ever. 

I see, then, I only want one thing to make me happy ; 
and that is, to know the precious things of my treasure^ 
and that I am so happy. Speak, and I am blessed for 
ever ; speak the heavenly word. " All things are yours, 
and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. 5 ' 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 35 

MEDITATION XIV. 

DEATH. 

1757. 

Theue is a lesson that concerns the whole world, 
which yet few of the world lay to heart ; and that is, that 
all men are mortal. If I ask at the practice of the uni- 
versality of mankind, it denies it. It I return and ask at 
my own breast ; why, I confess I must meet with death, 
but conclude myself immortal for the present, and so 
hold easy for the time being, though multitudes drop 
down around me. Ah ! when do I think on death, or 
suppose its approach near ? Many foolish pleasing 
scenes of life do I act in my fancy, but how seldom the 
final scene of dissolution 1 When do I represent myself 
to myself, laid on a sick-bed, on a death-bed, with bro- 
ken groans, cold Sweats,* trembling joints, languid looks, 
an intermitting pulse, and all the signs.of death, while 
friends bewail about me ? Or, when do I run through 
the more interesting part of the scene, how, when I 
leave the world, matters may stand between my soul 
and God ? How I shall appear before the majesty of 
Heaven, and stand in the tremendous judgment? Strange ! 
Is this the practice of one who knows, and would lain 
believe, he must die ? Pious kings have had their se- 
pulchres hewn out long before their death, that every 
time they saw them, they might, in the midst of ail their 
pomp and glory, see where they must shortly lie. In 
this even heathens shame me, of whom some have, by 
their own orders, had monitions of their own mortality 
made to them daily ; while others have set the skulls 
of the deceased at their tables, to moderate their mirth, 
and remind them of mortality. 

When I look abroad in the world, scenes of sorrow 
are every where to be seen. Sometimes both parents 
taken away from a young family of helpless orphans. 
At other times, the rising pillars, the apparent support 
of their aged and infirm parents, are matched away 
from the grey-herded mourners ! Who shall quarrel 
with Omnipotence, whether he cut down the olive fijants 
from about the table, or break the tree from amidst the 
dependent sfirigs ? Indeed, it is hard to persuade fond 
affection into silence, or to attain to resignation under 



3<¥ SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

the loss of a beloved friend. For when my renewed 
part is prostrate at the throne of the ail-wise Disposer, 
then my corruption is apt to rise into rebellion against 
the doings of the Most High. But whether have I most 
interest in my nearest relations, or in God ? Is one crea- 
ture more connected with another creature, by any tie, 
than the Creator of both ? What do I pray for, but that 
the wiii of God be done ? And yet, if it come near my 
famiiy, I tkke* again my word, and would have my will 
preferred to God's ! All I am, and have, are God's to 
dispose of, how and when he pleases ; who will never 
infringe his justice, or forget his bowels of compassion, 
even in my afflictions ! 

Would not I glorify God in my life and in my death ? 
and why not also in the death of my friends ? He glori- 
iied himself in their life, therefore they existed ; he 
glorifies himself in their death, therefore they are not. 
Will I pull and o draw r with God ? or tell him, he cannot 
have my friends yet, for, though they have served their 
generation, yet they have not served my fond affection ? 
An excess of grief here bewrays my want of love to God, 
to my relations, and to myself. For if I love God, I 
will be glad that his wall be done with me and mine, 
even to death. If I love my friends, I will be happy in 
their happiness ; and if I love my own soul, I will bless 
God for taking away friends, when like to come too 
much between my love and my Beloved, and like to take 
up too much of my affection from " the chiefest among 
ten thousand." 

Death and life, earth and heaven, time and eternity, 
the footstool and the throne, are thine. Can I then be- 
wail my friends, of whose felicity I have the cheerful 
hopes, that they are brought from death to life, trans- 
lated from earth to heaven, from time to eternity, and 
from the footstool to the throne ? They, are above the 
reach of sorrow ; and, on that account, shall I be be- 
low the reach of comfort ? Though carnal ties are dis- 
solved in death, yet the spiritual relation ceases not. 
So it matters not where the family .well ; for even in 
heaven they are exalted members of our exalted Head, 
and I a militant member of the same exalted Head ; 
thus, though far scattered, some in this world, some in 
the other world, yet all shall be convened together in 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. *35 

" the general assembly and church of the first born," 
free from sjAj free from sorrow. Almost my anguish 
would convert to joy, did not streams of briny grief 
pollute the chrystal current, and recall my ponderous 
loss. But what call I loss ? Absence, not loss. They 
are found of God, — dwell in and with God, and in what 
respects are they lost ? Just I s*ee them not, I hear 
them not. What is that to them who are so happy ? 
and what should it be to me who know them to be so 
happy ? I would adventure a friend far from home, to a 
foreign country, there to make a fortune, if informed 
by every post of his prosperity. But here I am sure, 
not only of their felicity, but of its perpetuity. What- 
ever my loss be, let me look to God for a supply of all. 
And since I have not them fondly to talk with, let my 
soliloquy be to God ; and as my love cannot penetrate 
into the pulverizing sepulchre, to hug their putrefying 
clay, nor enter eternity to find out their disembodied 
soul, let it return and empty itself alone on God. 

Now I see the vanity of the world ; death, when sent r 
pities not the life of the poor, spares not the rich, but 
is faithful to his charge, and cannot be corrupted. They 
are happy in leaving me, and going to God ; I am hap- 
py in losing them, and returning to God. God has 
broken, as Hezekiah did the brazen serpent, the idol to 
whom I gave incense, only due to God, and called it 
a fiiecc of clay. But now may the sweet hopes of a bles- 
sed immortality banish the sorrows of present dissolu- 
tion, and mitigate my grief; the more so as 1 need not 
sorrow like them that have no hope. A little, and I am 
no more ; soon my dust shall mingle with theirs, and 
wait that joyful trumpet, that shall summon every hap- 
py slumberer to immortality and bliss. 



MEDITATION XV. 

COMMUNION WITH GOD, WHAT IT IS. 

Communion with God is an expression often in my 
mouth, but which sinks no further; I know the word, 
but neither its blessed import, nor glorious extent. My 
prayers and practice jar ; for while I beg it with my 
lips, I study not to attain it in my life. Ah ! what a 



"26 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

stranger am I to that which I would fain have flattcreS 
myself that I am acquainted with ! Alas Y what know I 
of walking with God) — of that joy which is found in be- 
Jieving? What know I of the lasting and abiding im- 
pressions of his inexpressible love : What of that 
transforming vision, and assimilating sight which is en- 
joyed below, whereby the soul is changed into the same 
image, from glory to glory ! What do I know of dwel- 
ling in his presence all the day long ! What of pouring 
out my soul in prayer to him t ana wrestling with him 
for the blessing ' How seldom is my meditation of him 
sweet i 

But union is the basis of communion ; for bow can 
those walk or talk together that are not agreed ? O then 
to be joined to the Lord, and become one spirit! But, 
my sou*, mistake riot communion, for it lies not in a 
flaming profession, nor in the performance of Christian 
duties, as reading, hearing, praying, praising, though en- 
joyed in these ; nor in the greatest parts, and brightest 
talents; nor in lofty expressions in prayer; r.or in the 
knowledge of divine things : What is it then ? It is just a 
dwelling in and with God -.and God dwelling in and with the 
soul. It is God's love going out on the soul, and the soul 
in love going out on God. God dwells in the duty with 
supplies of grace, in the meditation as its subject, and 
in the heart as a portion and chief good. And the soul 
dwells in God as her ultimate end, dilates in his fulness, 
riots in his bliss. The soul that is blessed with such a 
communion, favoured with such a fellowship, knows no 
other object for her love ; no other subject for her 
thoughts ; no other employment for her faculties ; no 
higher degree of happiness for her attainment, thaft con- 
summate communion; no other beloved for her affec- 
tion; and no other end for her existence. Nor is this 
all. In communion with God, the soul shares of his 
fulness, communicates of his glory, drinks at his p'ea- 
sures, satiates herseif with his love, part ; cipa?es of his 
communicable perfections, enters into his joy, and par- 
takes of the divine nature. O life of angels i O paradise 
of love ! O transporting employ! O ecstacy of bliss I 
The soul is always with God ; now in prayer, then in 
praise; now in medUat^on, then in ejaculation ; she has 
not a complaint but she tells to God : not a grief bat she 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 37 

niakcs known to him ; not a sin but she mourns over 
to him; not a request, not a desire, but she reveals 
to him. O that hcly intimacy that is contracted 
between the soul and God 1 that freedom of con- 
verse, that wrestling with God in prayer, disputing 
about the blessing 1 Let me go ;- — i" will not let thee go 
until thou bless me ! This is the life of heaven on earth, 
God come down to man, or man taken up to God. 

Now, my soul, what sayest, what thinkest thou of all 
this ? Ah ! the carnal mind is enmity against God, and 
against communion with God. Then I must either be 
crucified to the world, or cursed with the world. It is 
not a Sabbath-day's devotion, a rapture in time of praise 
or prayer, and returning greedily to the world. Com- 
munion is another thing than I have hitherto taken it to 
be. It is constant and continual. I should endeavour 
to keep my soul always in an heavenly frame, even in 
earthly affairs ; thus the angels, even in messages to our 
world, carry heaven with them. Although I must mind 
the necessary affairs of this life, yet I should carry God 
to the field with me, and to the closet, to the street, and 
to my table. I should work and walk, fall asleep, and 
awake in his presence ; and talk with him on my bed, 
when all around me keep silence; and when hurried 
away with vain rovings, my soul should still return to 
God, as her centre, as her resting-place. 

O the pleasure that is in this life of communion with 
God ! it is a young heaven, with which, in the highest 
degree of perfection, all the saints in glory are blessed. 
Then, Lord, begin this life of communion in my soul, 
to which I am too much a stranger ; destroy every thing 
that would destroy it; and as I would desire to live 
with thee hereafter, so let me endeavour to live with 
thee here, and thus improve for eternity, and prepare 
for the world to come. 



MEDITATION XVI. 

THE DISPOSAL OF PROVIDENCE ALWAYS BEST. 

Why would I still take the government of myself 
out of thy hand, and choose according to my fond de- 
sires ? Can my irnonmce penetrate through the thick 
darkness of futurity ? Who would choose a blind mad- 
D 



38 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OH, 

-man to guide him through some lonely ways, and in- 
tricate meanders, with which neither the traveller nor 
the guide, are acquainted in the least ; since he might 
lead him where he lists, and stab him as he strays ? 
It is surely safer to walk by fuith in God, than to be 
led by fancy. I choose what is most agreeable to me ; 
but God chooses what is most advantageous for me ; 
and proves, in his disposal of me, that his love to me 
is greater than my love to myself. I love blindly, but 
he loves with the wisdom of a God. I would have my 
prayers answered at my time, but God answers them 
at his time, which is always the best time. I would 
have my blessings in sum, but he gives them in parcels, 
because I could not bear them all at once. So the pru- 
dent mother feeds her child, not according to the ir- 
regular appetite of her infant, to avoid surfeits, but 
according to its real necessity, to afford nourishment. 
In this unhappy life, it is not the least of my happiness, 
that I am not at my own direction, at mine own dispo- 
sal ; or a ship without pilot, and at the mercy of wind 
and waves, might as well find the desired port, as I at- 
tain to rest and tranquility. 

Through faith and patience it is that I must inherit 
the promises ; therefore God, to make me inherit them 
in the way that all the saints have done before, tries 
my patience, and exercises my faith ; and dare I quar- 
rel at his conduct, or be displeased at such bright dis- 
plays of his peculiar care and loving-kindness ? Why, 
then, so many risings in my breast, so many doubtings 
in my soul ? Hence I will conclude of every contingen- 
cy in my lot, however contrary to my enterprises and 
designs, however crushing to flesh and blood, that it is 
the very best for me, both with respect to this world and 
that which is to come. 



MEDITATION XVII. 

LCYE IX ITS FOURFOLD EXTENSION. Eph. ill- 13. 

Some things may have heighth as the heavens> depth 
as the sea, and breadth and length as the earth ; but love 
divine has an height which cannot be seen, a depth 
which cannot be sounded, a length which caimot be 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 39 

limited, and a breadth which cannot be measured I O 
Lord I may I know thy love in its depth, in bringing 
me out of "the lowest hell; in its height* in setting me. 
on the Redeemer's throne ; in its breadth* in making 
me an heir of God; and in its length, in eternizing my 
bliss in the regions of glory. This love, in its depth, 
recovers and restores fallen man to endless felicity ; in 
its height, crowns and confirms the church of the first- 
born ; the inhabitants of the better country walk at lib- 
erty in its breadth, and rejoice in its length, its eternal 
duration. 

Thou, Lord, hast, in thy love, been my dwelling-place 
before the mountains were brought forth ; and art my 
dwelling-rock while I wander in the howling desert, and 
wilt be my temple when sun and moon are no more. 
Well does thy love deserve a fourfold definition, that 
answers my fourfold situation. Thou has loved me 
with an everlasting love, when in the loins of my parents 3 
therefore with loving-kindness dost thou draw me. Thou 
lovest me now, when I appear in this world, a man com- 
posed of soul and body ; therefore dost thou reveal thy- 
self to me. Thou wilt love me when i exist in a sepa- 
rate state, when my body is laid in the silent grave, and 
my soul carried into the world of spirits ; therefore, at 
my dissolution, shall I enter into the joy of my Lord. 
And thou wilt love me when my soul and body are uni- 
ted again ; therefore thou wilt pass the gracious sen- 
tence on me, in the sight of men and angels ; and, in 
the sight of the whole world, present me with a crown 
of life, a crown of glory, which fadeth not away. When 
I lay weltering in my blood, it pitied me ; when run- 
ning on in the mad career of sin, it converted me ; and 
now that I am reconciled, it will never ieave me, but 
at last will crown my graces with perfection. 

This glorious love extends to every point, to every 
quarter. In the rugged path of life, it supports me ; 
amidst the sorrows of life, it comforts me ; in the hour 
of death, it is my sun and shield; and at the day of 
judgment, shall spread an heaven before me. This love 
in its depth, answers my necessities ; in its heighti 
crowns my highest expectations ; in itsbreadtii, replen- 
ishes my soul with goodness; and inks length, satiates 
my most enlarged desires of mind, and 3uits the eter* 



40 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

nity of my existence. In the depth of this love, the Son 
of God became man; and in its oen are made 

the sons of God. It locks the hell, so that I 

shall never fall into peiv ns the gates of hea- 

ven, so that I shalJ t : ocean of love, 

whose height and dtp i tfa and lenpth, shall be 

the. suhjt ct and the song ni the church triumphant round 
the throne, through everlasting day* 

MEDITATION XVIII. 

SLANDER. 

March 17, 1767. 

What a wicked world do we live in ! If happy we 
are envied; if miserable, we are contemned; and in 
every condition slandered. With the psalmist of old, I 
may say, " The mouth of the slanderer is opened 
against me." With him I may add, " They have spok- 
en against me without a cause." O that, with him, I 
could also say, " But I gave myself to prayer ?" 

I am not the first that have suffered innocently. The 
man after God's own heart, in the darkest day ot his dis- 
tress, (for slander has no pity,) and in the midst of his 
life guards, is attacked by a subject, and has the most 
virulent speeches thrown out against him, accompanied 
with dust ; and the most bitter reproaches, sent home 
with voilies of stones ? David, thou wast never more 
like a king, nor more like the King of heaven, than now, 
who makes his sun to shine on the good and the evil, 
and sendeth rain on the just and unjust. I read, I ad- 
mire, and would imitate : " Let him alone, let him 
curse, for the Lord hath bidden him." Such patience 
under such ill usage, at any other time, would not have 
been prudent ; but now it is like a king, like a saint, like 
an angel, like God. 

From David I cast mine eye to David's Lord, the God 
of angels, who, by his own creatures, and to his very 
face, is called a devil. He whose miracles set his divin- 
ity above doubt, is accused as a deceiver, condemned as 
an imposter, and executed as a malefactor ; yet hear his 
prayer ; & Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do." The patience of the type, and the prayer of 
the antitype, let me study to imitate. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS* 4i 

How cautious should we be in believing detracting 
stories, since nothing can be liker truth, yet, nothing* 
more untrue, than the slander I complain of. But O 
how sweet is the testimony of a good conscience ? It is 
an impenetrable shield against all the poisoned arrows 
of reproach. When the soul can call in the heart- 
searching God to witness its innocency, well may it 
triumph, knowing that " the curse causeless shall not 
come." But how difficult is it to be of a meek and for- 
giving spirit, when despitefully used ! To love an ene- 
my, and forgive an evil-speaker, is an higher attainment m 
than is commonly believed. Christianity in theory and 
Christianity in practice, are very different things. It is 
easy to talk of Christian forbearance among neighbours, 
but to practise it ourselves, proves us to be Christians 
indeed. The surmises of a few credulous persons need 
not trouble that man, who knows his cause is soon to be 
tried in court, and he openly acquitted. So the evil lan- 
guage of evil times need not greatly disturb me, since in; 
the day of judgment " my judgment shall be brought 
forth as the noon-day." Whiie I pray for pardon to my 
slanderers, I also plead, that their evil speeches may 
not be established in the earth. 

The circumstances of David change, but not his hea- 
venly temper. Hence the abandoned Benjamite neither 
finds him the desperado when driven from Jerusalem, 
nor the tyrant when returning in triumph. c I have sin- 
ned, 5 says the prostrate rebel ; i I pardon,' says the pros- 
perous king. 4 What ! my Lord, r cries Abishai, 4 shall 
not Shimei be slain, that cursed the Lord's anointed ?* 
' No ; shall my restoration be laid in blood ? May not I 
pardon, for am not I king this day in Israel ?' Thus Da- 
vid will not avenge his personal injury ; but as Shi- 
mei's malediction was a breach of the law of heaven, 
commits the matter to Solomon, and his wickedness at 
last found him out. 

My passion runs in a wrong channel; for my grief 
should be greater than the malicious slanderer sins 
against God, against his own soul, and against the truth 
in his elaborate lies, than for all the mischief his bitter 
reproaches can do to me. 

Every time the military man enters the field of battle, 
he must either stand his ground, or come off with dis« 
D 2 






42 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 



grace ; so under every trial, my graces either must reap 
advantage, or suffer loss. Therefore, my present duty 
is not to slander my slanderers, not to meditate revenge, 
. or rejoice when evil finds them : But. first, to justify 
God in ail things ; then, to forgive, pray for, and love 
mine enemies ; thirdly, to study what I may be reprov- 
ed iii, chastised for, or instructed about; and, lastly, 
that every grace, (faith in God, patience under the rod, 
humility of mind, and meekness towards all,) may im- 
prove under the present providences. 
I 



MEDITATION XIX. 

FEAR, AND OTHER PASSIONS. 

Four things I should fear; God, myself, temptation? 
and sin I should fear God, for his greatness ; self, for 
its infirmity ; temptation, for its danger ; and sin, for its 
defilement. I should fear God with love ; myself with 
caution; sin with hatred; and temptation with resolu- 
tion. The fear of God will take away the fear of man ; 
the fear of self will mode* ate the love of self; the fear 
of sin will make watchful against sin ; and the fear of 
temptation will be an antidote against temptation. My 
fear of God should be constant with cheerfulness ; of 
self, constant with trembling ; of sin, constant with 
Watchfulness; and of temptation, constant with vigi- 
lance. The first is my attainment ; the second is my 
duty; the third is my wisdom; and the fourth is my 
prudence. The fear of sin shall fly away, when I am 
made perfect in holiness, and pass into glory ; the fear 
of self shall cease, when self is put off, and God is all in 
all ; the fear of temptation, when Satan is trodden under 
my feet : byt the fear of God shall endure for ever ; on- 
ly the panic is removed, when love is made perfect, and 
casteth out fear; for the fear of saints, struggling with 
a body of sin and death, hath torment in it ; but there is 
no torment in the fear of seraphic hosts, who, with the 
profoundest awe and reverence before the throne, cover 
their faces with their wings. I see, then, that love, ac- 
companied with fear that has cast out the torment of ter- 
ror, shall dwell in every glorified breast 

Several things should be the objects of my most ar- 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 43 



dent desire ; as, the lessening of Satan's kingdom ; the 
downfall of the Roman Antichrist, and M diometan delu- 
sion ; the conversion of the Jews ; the spreading of the 
gospel and knowledge of God through the world; the 
growth of practical religion in every breast ; and the 
hastening of the glory of the latter days. 

Several things I should admire and wonder at ; as the 
being and perfections of God ; the unity in Trinity, and 
Trinity in unity ; the love of God ; the incarnation of 
the Son ; the passion of Christ ; the purchase of his suf-A| 
ferings ; the names of Immanuel ; the offices of the Re^;r 
deemer; the relations of the God-man; the Holy- 
Ghost's indwelling in the soul ; the union of saints to 
their Head ; the communion of creatures with God ; 
the justification of the guilty; the sanctification of the 
unclean ; the glorification of man that is but a worm ; 
the great and precious pronrses; the excellency of 
grace ; the efficacy of faith ; the nature and immortality 
of the soul ; and the glories of the world to come. 

Several things I should mourn over ; as, the hardness 
ef my heart; my ignorance of God; my luke-warm- 
ness in the matters of his glory ; the pre valency of sin ; 
my want of love ; my promptitude to revenge ; my com- 
placency in created enjoyments ; a carnal mind and 
tong\je ; and carelessness about the concerns Gf the un- 
seen world : — and abroad the world, I should mourn 
over the degeneracy of the times ; the corruption of 
morals ; the abounding of iniquity ; the trampling on 
truth ; and the adorning o£the temple of error ; which, 
if attacked, an outcry is made, Great is the light of na- 
ture, the flower of free will, and the excellency cf mo- 
rality, the goddess of the universe. 

Several things I should prefer to others ; as, the 
glory of God to all ; his honour to my credit ; and his 
love more than my own life : — and I should grieve more 
at the sins of others, than for mine own sorrows, and 
count my sins a heavier burden than my afflictions. I 
should esteem the promise of eternal life more than 
the possession of all created things, and inward joy 
more than outward peace. 

And, finally, in the midst of all, several things should 
cause me to rejoice ; as that God governs all things ; 
that all things shall work for his glory, and the good 



44 SOLITUDE SWEETENED j OK, 

of his people ; that righteousness shall dwell in the 
earth, and sin as ashamed stop its mouth ; that grace 
shall be perfected ; conquest crown the wrestler ; and 
love be blown into a flame, when eternal life is the por- 
tion of the soul, and God is all in all in heaven, where 
vision shall be without the glass, fruition above meas- 
ure, communion inconceivably and divinely near, knowl- 
edge full, and the saints, (in the highest perfection that 
creatures can attain unto,) made partakers of the divine 
nature ! Now, what joy may it afford, that the glory of 
mis day, the dawning of eternal glory, is not very far 
away ? 

MEDITATION XX. 

UNIVERSAL IMPROVEMENT. 

As there is not a moment of time but I must account 
for, so there is nothing that happens me but I should 
improve. Miseries I should improve, to remind me 
or my pedigree, that my first father hath sinned ; mer- 
cies, in admiring the fountain whence, and the fine- 
ness with which they flow ; prosperity, in cheerful de- 
votion ; adversity, in consideration ; riches, in charity ; 
poverty, in contentment ; opportunity of revengre, in a 
frank forgiveness, and doing good for ill ; evil compa- 
ny, in raising my estimate of the saints of God ; loss 
of relations, in loosening my affections from the crea- 
ture, raising them to the iramortal world, and remem- 
bering my latter end ; sickness, in preparing for my 
change ; health, in a cheerful performance of Chris- 
tian, relative, and social duties ; knowledge, in trying 
all, and holding fast that winch is best ; crosses and 
losses, in learning the vanity of the world; answers of 
prayer, in returns of praise ; delays, in patience ; dis- 
appointment, in resignation ; changes in my lot, in sub- 
mission ; the uproar of kingdoms, in remembering that 
God rules the nations, and stills the tumults of the peo- 
ple ; temptation to sin, in flying to the grace of God, 
distrusting self, and improving the promise; the falsi- 
fying friend, in aduring the faithfulness of God ; strife 
and discord in xhurch or state, in admiring the happy 
state ; when the adorer* are one before the throne ; 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 45 

manifestation, in humility ; desertion, in holy diligence ;. 
correction, in amendment; gifts, tor edification ; time, 
for eternity; grace, for glory; and my soul in all her 
faculties, for God. 



MEDITATION XXI. 

THE SOUL'S ENLARGEMENT ON HIGH. 

1757. 
Here the soul, confined to clay, is like a royal per- 
sonage in prison, whose grand attendance is not seen, 
because he cannot come abroad. While this heaven- 
born excellency is here below, wisdom differs but a lit- 
tle from folly ; understanding is but a few degrees re- 
moved from ignorance ; and all the mental powers are 
feeble. But O the enlargement of the soul on high ! 
This map of future glories, now folded up in flesh, 
shall be extended in breadth and length above. How 
penetrating then shall wisdom be ! how active every 
power ! how vigorous the flame of love ! how enlarged 
the understanding ! and how beautiful in the heights of 
glory shall the whole soul appear i Here, the child of 
grace, who was glad %f a seat on the threshold of the 
temple, and could with joy have been but a door-keeper 
in the house of God, shall not only be a pillar in the 
temple above, but shall be a living temple, in which 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, shall condescend to 
dwell, and fill for ever with his glory ! O transcending 
bliss 1 to be dignified with such an inhabitant, who will 
write, in letters of immutable love, u this is my rest, 
here will I dwell forever, for I desire it. and delight in 
it." Yea, in fine, the soul which would be content to 
shine as the least star in the firmament of glory, shall, 
in the visions of God, be extended to a transparent 
heaven, and spread into a cloudless sky, in which all the 
perfections of God shall sparkle like the stars, and the 
graces of the Holy Spirit, like so many planets, shall 
roll round the Sun of righteousness, eager to approach 
his assimilating beams, his vivifying rays ; while he, 
the sum and source of bliss, fixed in his love in the 
centre of the soul, shall spread his chickening flames 
to every corner of the heart. No more vexations, like 



46 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR, 

vapours exhaled by the heat of righteous indignation, 
shall filUmy atmosphere with the suffocating fogs of 
anguish, or fall in showers of sorrow that end in streams 
of briny tears. Thunders and tempests there no more 
molest, where all is tranquility ; no eclipse, where all 
is light ; no shadow, where all is illumination ; no even- 
ing, where all is everlasting day. 

This sky, spread out by the fingers of redeeming 
love, this new -created heaven^ is not only beauteous 
like a molten looking-glass, but shall be strong to stand 
for ever ; and then,' and there, O how shall union be 
strengthened, assimilation increased 1 How shall joy 
heighten, wisdom grow, knowledge ripen, communion 
be most free, and ecstasy and rapture swell, fill, and 
eveiflow for evermore ! 



MEDITATION XXII. 

AFFLICTION THE LOT OF SAINTS BELOW. 

May 13 & 19, 1757. 

While I am mortal, I must taste of the waters of 
Mara, drink of the cup of adversity, and swim the tem- 
pestuous ocean. It is the perfection of angels, that they 
could never know the pathos of mental disquiet, or the 
pangs of anguish ; and it is the happiness of departed 
saints, to obtain joy for mourning, a crown for crosses, 
and to forget their misery, if not wholly, yet to remem- 
ber it as waters, once swelled to a dreadful flood, but 
that n-ow for ever flow away. It is, then, the misery of 
the sons of men, only while here, to be, as it were, a 
mark set up for the arrows of tribulation, and to be en- 
gaged in constant war, and in perpetual broils ; but it 
is the privilege of the Christian soldier to wear the 
shield of faith, with which he shall be able to quench 
the fiery darts of Satan, and to ward off the siing-stones 
of tribulation which peit him from every quarter. How, 
then, may I triumph under all my afflictions, if I con- 
sider, 

1. That they come from God, whatever, be the in- 
strument : " Thou hast chastised me, and I was chas- 
tised ; thou hast afflicted me in faithfulness/* 



^MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 47 

S. That they are out of love : " Whom the Lord lov- 
eth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he 
receiveth." 

3. That they are for my good : " Fathers of our flesh 
chastise us for their pleasure, but he for our profit, that 
we may be partakers of his holiness." 

4. That they are for the exercise of grace, even of 
that noble grace of faith : " when I am afraid I will trust 
in thee ; here faith is improved by affliction. " My 
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temp- 
tations, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh 
patience. Not only so, but" (strange to tell !) " we 
glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation work- 
eth patience, and patience experience, and experience 
hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love 
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." 

5. They are noble antidotes against, and preserva- 
tives from sin : " Ere I was afflicted, I strayed, but now 
I keep thy word." 

6. They assimilate the saints tq their glorious Head, 
their sympathizing and feeling High Priest, who was 
M a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:" yea, 
in the work of redemption, the Captain of their salva- 
tion was made perfect through sufferings." 

7. They give a general disgust of all created things, 
and prove the creature to be subject to vanity ; hence, 
says one much inured to affliction, " I have seen an end 
of ail perfection." 

8. They teach humanity and sympathy to fellow-crea- 
tures in the same circumstances. Israel, from their be- 
ing strangers, were to know the heart of a stranger, 
and deal kindly with him ; and in this men ought to im- 
itate hirn, " who suffered being tempted, that he might 
know how to succor them that are tempted, and be a 
merciful High Priest to his people." 

9. They make very humble, and break the haughty 
mind, and bring down the lofty thought: u I shall go 
softly all my years, in the bitterness of my soul ; my 
soul is as a weaned child :" and God has this in view by 
them, to hide pride from man. 

10. They make the man rightly exercised therein, to 
know himself, and think on his former ways ; to resort 
often to the throne of grace, jjd often to God, and ih- 






48 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 



crease, as it were, the acquaintance between God and 
his soul : " In the day of nay trouble I sought <he Lord, 5 ' 

11. They give clear and certain proof of the provi- 
dence of God, who in six troubles and in seven delivers 
out of them. They preach his power, who makes his 
people pass through fire and water, not to other ruin, 
which we might well expect, but to a wealthy place, to 
heaven and to glory. 

12. They prepare for glory, and make us fit to join the 
company of those that came out of great tribulation, and 
have washed their garments and made them white in 
the blood of the Lamb, therefore are they before the 
throne of God, and enjoy him in all his divine plenti- 
tude, world without end. 

Shall I, then, despise the discipline of heaven, from 
which none are exempted, no, not the Son of God ? Yea, 
all the heirs of glory are brought up in the school of the 
cross. O royal privilege, inestimable blessing, to be 
under the care of heaven, and tuition of God ! Away, 
despondency, begone; thou wouldest cast* a covering 
over the love of him who is my tower in troublous days ; 
and make me conclude hardly of him who has thoughts 
of kindness towards me. Can infinite wisdom be at a 
loss to contrive, or infinite power nonplussed to bring to 
pass, to bring to perfection, my relief? Till then, I shall, 
I will believe ; nor shall I look to means, or tie Omnip- 
otence to them. Bring Israel to the rock to quench 
their thirst I What ! Can solid flint be converted into a 
cooling stream ? But, lo ! the aged sides divide asun- 
der, and let the promised springs refresh the parched 
hosts. Omnipotence, rather than not perform, will stop 
the course of nature, and make the restless billows rise 
in liquid walls, that Israel's bondaged sons may tread 
the trackless sand ; will bid the raven feed, with morn- 
ing and evening care, the wandering prophet ; and for- 
bid the fire to burn, or even to singe the garments of 
the glorious martyrs ; yea, to feed his chosen people, 
lie creates and rains down manna from above. Who, 
then, should bound his power, or doubt his faithfulness ? 
God will never break his word, whatever men think, nor 
falsify his faithful promise. Cursed unbelief implies, 
that either God promises what he never intends to per- 
form, or what he is notable to perfect; both which are 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 4§ 

blasphemous ; both which, O my soul ! abhor, and ra- 
ther rejoice in tribulation, which, when watered with 
the dew of heaven, is so far from being a barren soil, 
that it is the nursery of other graces, and brings forth 
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, 
and hope strong confidence, and sweet dependence oh 
that God whose love is shed abroad in the heart by the 
Holy Ghost. 

Again, in affliction the saints are ascertained of the 
love and care of God, when their prayers enter into 
his holy habitation, and their requests are answered to 
the joy of their soul. Hence it was sin in Israel to 
chide with Moses, and to quarrel with God, when 
brought into difficulties and dangers that seemed inex- 
tricable every way. Before them the Red Sea forbids 
them to advance, high hills on every side hinder their 
escape, and behind advancing hosts, swoln with rage, 
and ravening after blood, deny a safe retreat. Now 
man is more than nonplussed; all courage fails; faith 
and hope are low ; fears are high ; and, alas ! their eye 
is not towards Him who can do all things, and who did 
instantaneously, to manifest his power, and fix his peo- 
ple's faith in himself, divide the raging floods, and 
build the restless waters in chrystal walls, to bound 
their steps in ways not known before, and clothe their 
rear in shady night, which darted pitchy darkness in the 
eyes of the keen pursuer. 

Seeing Thou, O Governor of men ! canst make 
crooked things straight, rough places plain, and afflic- 
tion even to become a friend, I will rejoice in thee for 
ever, nor quarrel at thy conduct. Yea, wo to them ; 
nay, wo to me, if I use any unlawful means, or be too 
anxious to set my nest on high, that I may be delivered 
from the power of evil. Agitating affliction, like the 
flux and reflux of the sea, casts out mire and dirt, 
sweeps its troubled bosom, refines the affections, and 
purifies the soul. Take courage, O my soul ! and mind 
that yet a little while and sin is no more, and sorrow is 
no more, and temptations are no more, and troubles 
are no more, and time is no more : but yet a little 
while and love, and life, and light, and liberty, and joy, 
and glory, rapture and delight ; in aword, God and all 
his fulness, are thine for evermore 
v 



59 solitude sweetened; on, 

MEDITATION XXIII. 

PRIVATE EXPERIENCE. 

May 24, 1757. 

O the wonderful condescension of God L If he looks 
Into heaven, among thrones and dominions, seraphim 
and cherubim, it is humility, stupendous humility. 
How much more when he casts his caring eyes on this 
inferior world ! But still most of all, when he hears 
th£ cries, and answers the requests, of one who is in- 
finitely less than the least ofay his mercies ! Thou hast 
heard, and I am revived ; thou hast answered me, and 
I am confirmed in my belief of thy love towards me. 
O Lord ! henceforth let all my love be thine, and on 
ihee let all my faith depend. Now I know to whom to 
fly, and where it is safe to hide me. Now I know, that 
one day is to God as a thousand years, and that what- 
ever he ran do in a thousand years, he can do in one 
day. Now, to the friend that sticketh closer than a 
brother, with confidence I will cleave. Faith could 
never be too large in its requests to God in prayer ; but 
God has many a time gone beyond faith in his returns 
of mercy, and made the blessing broader than belief 
itself, and more extensive than the utmost expectation. 

Alas ! it is night in the soul, when unbelief suggests 
that God's ear is heavy, that he cannot hear, and his 
hand shortened, that he cannot save. Lord, let such 
a night never spread over my horizon ; but let the day- 
star of faith spread out the purpled morning, till the 
glorious sun bring in the perfect day. Mine extremity 
has been, and still shall be, thine opportunity to appear 
in my relief. Circumstances with me may come to 
my utmost, even to my last extreme, but can never 
come to thy utmost ; but even though it were so, thou 
canst save to the uttermost all that come unto thee. 
Let others conclude of the conduct of providence as 
they please ; but for my part, I approve and praise, and 
henceforth shall be at thy disposal, O glorious Governor 
of men and angels ! Do with me as thou wilt, for thy 
kindness I have experienced from my cradle, and shall 
do to the tomb. The world is a stranger to the mys- 
tery of providence, and to the communion thy people 
have with thee therein. They know nothing of the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 51 

prayer of faith, nor of the return of prayer. When 
the soul is helped to take firm hold of God in the prom- 
ise, and to look to him alone, and nothing else-, and 
none besides, it is a prelude of approaching mercy. 
Now, if my conscious soul can blush, let me be asham- 
ed out of my unbelief for ever. Biessed be thy name 
that thou hast not dealt with me as I have sinned, giv- 
en me mine own measure into my bosom, and repaid 
my low thoughts of God with scanty outlettings of thy 
kindness. Now, O Lord ! hold me in the hollow of 
thy hand, and under thy wings let me reside ; while any 
way thou shalt dispose of me, shali every way delight 
me, till I am brought at last beyond the line of time, 
where changes and mutations shall never more taks 
place. 



MEDITATION XXIV. 

ALL PLENITUDE IN CHRIST, TO ANSWER ALL THE 
WANTS OF HIS PEOPLE. 

May 24, 1757. 
In Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bod- 
ily, that out of his fulness I may receive, and grace for 
grace. — Have I destroyed myself by sin ? On him who 
is mighty to save from sin and wrath has God laid help 
for me..- — Is my foolish mind darkened, and am I a guil- 
ty, polluted, and ruined wretch I Of God be is made 
to me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re- 
demption. — -Am I of yesterday, and pass away as a 
shadow ? He is the Ancient of days, and endureth for 
evermore. — Am I of few years, and full of trouble ? 
He is my life, the length of my days, and the joy of 
my heart — Am I exposed to contempt? He shall be to 
me for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty.— 
Am I travelling through the wilderness ? He is my 
staff, and on him I lean all the way. — Am I on my last 
journey to my long home ? He is my leader, and my 
reward. — Am I a sheep ? He is my pasture, and my 
green pasture too. — Am I hungry and thirsty ? He is 
my heavenly manna, and gives me to drink of the wa- 
ter of life. — Am I weary ? He is my rest and refreshing. 
—Am I weak? He is strength to them that turnt^e 



52 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

battle to the gate. — Am I oppressed and wronged ? He 
is my judge, and my avenger.— Am I reproached ? He 
will bring forth my judgment as the noon-day, and the 
reproach of his people he will wipe away. — Am I a 
stranger ? He is my shield. — Am I a soldier ? He is 
my Captain, and complete armour. — Must I fight in the 
field of battle ? He is my covering in the day of war.— 
i)o I sit in darkness ? He is my light. — In doubts ? He 
is my counsellor. — Am I ignorant I He is made of God 
wisdom to me. — Am I guilty ? He is my justification. — 
Filthy ? He is my sanctification. — Am I dead ? He is 
my life, and quickens those that are dead in trespasses 
and sins. — Am I poor ? He is the pearl of great price, 
and can fill all my treasures. — Am I blind ? He, and 
none but he, can open the eyes of one born blind. — Am 
I naked ? He has white raiment to cover the shame of 
my nakedness. — Am I in the very utmost necessity ? 
He is a very present help in time of trouble. — Am I 
exposed to the hurricanes of adversity ? He is a re- 
fuge from the storm, a covert from the blast, as rivers 
cf waters in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great 
rock in a weary land. — Ami afraid of being left alone ? 
He will never leave me, nor forsake me. — Do I wait 
the performance of the promise \ He is the yea raid 
amen of all the promises of God. — Do friends and breth- 
ren prove false ? He is the friend that sticketh closer 
than a brother. — Am I in clanger, as to my outward 
man, from diseases and death ; as to my inward man, 
from sin and Satan ? My life is hid with Christ in God ; 
and when he shall appear, I shall appear with him, in 
my body immortal, and glorious in my soul. — Is my 
cause tabled in the court of heaven ? There he is my 
Advocate. — Do I oflend the Father? With him he is 
my Intercessor — Do I suffer in my body, and am griev- 
ed in my mind ? He bare my infirmities, and carried 
my griefs. — Is my mind disquieted, and my soul de- 
bared from peace*? He is my feeling High Priest, and, 
in that he was tempted, knows to succour them that 
are tempted. — Am I injured in my estate, and reduced 
in my circumstances ? He, the heir of all things, tho* 
he was rich, yet for my sake he became poor, that I 
thro* his poverty, might be made rich. — Do 1 suffer in 
my character ? He was numbered with transgressors, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 53 

called a Samaritan, a glutton, a wine-bibber, and a 
devil. — Do I suffer in the death of friends, the nearest 
and dearest ? Well, he in the fatal night was left alone ; 
all the disciples forsook him and fled ; and he, my only- 
friend, can never die. — Must I undergo death, and be 
laid in the grave ? He has taken away the sting of death, 
and spoiled the grave of its victory. — Must I rot ? He 
shall be my resurrection, and raise me to immortality 
and bliss. — Would I go to God and to glory ? He is my 
way, and must admit me into the palace of the great 
King, where I shall abide for ever. 

In fine, he is my kinsman, my physician, my prophet, 
priest, and king, my father, head, and husband ; and 
hereafter, when I shall dwell in the land of bliss, in the 
city of God, he will be the light thereof; and since I 
am to worship there for ever, he will be the temple of 
of the general assembly and church of the first-born. 
My wants are many, but his fulness is infinitely more. 
The morning-dews and fructifying showers water the 
fields, and refresh the parched furrows ; but what are 
they to the exhaustiess ocean ? So what is all that I en- 
joy below, (and yet with thy goodness I am satisfied,) 
to the exuberant fulness of the heavenly bliss ? O ! then, 
how shall my soul be replenished when possessed of 
this infinite all, through eternity itself! 



MEDITATION XXV. 

PRAYER AND PRAISE. 

May 29, 1757. 
Prayer and praise is the employment of the two 
families of earth and heaven, the church-militant and 
the church-triumphant. Prayer is the native breathings 
of the heaven-born soul, the lispings of the child of 
grace, who, when grown to the stature of a perfect 
man in Christ Jesus, and taken home to his higher 
house, breaks forth into melodious strains of praise. 
Prayer suits the state below, and praise the state above. 
Here I am vexed with sin and temp ation, with wants 
and infirmities, therefore I pray ; but there I shall be 
blessed with the removal of sin and temptation, of wants 
and infirmities 5 therefore I shall praise. Here God 
E 2 



$4 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

gives all, but for his gifts he will be inquired of by the 
house of Israel, that he may bestow them ; — hence pray- 
er is now my duty : But there he has given all things, 
and for his gifts he will be acknowledged by all the hea- 
venly host ; — hence praise then is my debt. Prayer is 
the soul pouring out itself to God in a state of trial ; 
and praise is the soul's pouring out itself to God in a 
state of triumph. Now, as our life is a life of trouble, 
a complication of calamities, and a scene of affliction, 
prayer is more properly our continual exercise ; for 
u if any man is afflicted, let him pray :" But on high, 
as all is peace, perfection, purity, and joy, praise is 
most properly their exercise ; hence the hosts before 
the throne are said u not to rest day nor night" in prais- 
ing him that sits thereon for ever. Yet as judgment is 
mixed with mercy, and our condition, however calami- 
tous, has something in it comfortable ; therefore praise 
also waits in Zion on the Hearer of prayer. The foun- 
dation of prayer is God's all-sufficiency and promise, 
and nay insufficiency ; for if I needed nothing, I should 
ask nothing, even at the hand of God ; like those of old 
Who said, We are lords, we vail come no more unto 
thee ; and as I must believe that God zs, if I come un- 
to him, so I must believe that God hcu to give, and will 
give according to his promise, if I ask of him. 

O divine exercise below ! for while I present my 
supplication, and narrate my grievances, I am some 
times transported from these glooms of anguish to a 
mental calm and tranquility of mind, where lam filled 
with rapture, while I by faith foresee all my requests 
fulfilled, and the causes of my sorrow annihiutted in 
his love. By prayer, the soul's embussy on the most in- 
teresting affairs is carried to the court of heaven, some- 
times in broken sentences, devout ejaculations, pious 
aspirations, si^hs, and groans. By it I reveal my mind 
to the Most High, ease my burdened breast, and de- 
volve all my difficulties on God, and then composedly 
rest. This is the Christian's evening and morning sac- 
rifice to God ; but the prayerless person is the profane 
atheist, who denies adoration to the Author of his be- 
ing. O 1 then to be sensible of the majesty of God, for 
Fear of whom my very flesh should tremble ! 

O deluded Papist I why commit thy suits to angels, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 

«r departed saints ? Though they were concerned for 
thee, which they are not, yet, seeing they attend the 
throne of God in the highest heavens, they can neither 
know of thy complaints nor thee, unless possessed of 
omnisciency, which it were blaspnemous to suppose ? 
But is not God every where, and fills the very heart? 
As in him thou livest, movest, and breathest, so in him 
thou thinkest ; and to him alone, through his beloved 
Son, thou shouldst pour out all thy complaints and sup- 
plications. Friends may be removed, acquaintance ta- 
ken away, public worship without reach, liberty deni- 
ed, I banished from my native land ; yet the soul and 
prayer must never separate. The royal charter is lodg- 
ed within my breast, that I may be robbed of every- 
thing sooner than of liberty to come with boldness, 
through the blood of Jesus, to the throne of grace. 
The wicked, through his pride of face, will not call 
upon God ; but it is my highest honor to be admitted in- 
to the presence of the King eternal, and to have his ear 
open, and attentive to my request. What is the saint's 
prayer book I Just affliction, and a body of sin and 
death lying hard upon him, and Christ, in ail his divine 
offices and endearing relations. The first teaches him 
for what to pray, and the last to whom. In this divine 
exercise, God condescends to wrestle with his people., 
and in the struggle to be prevailed upon : * Let me go," 
says God ; " I will not." says the wrestler, " till thou 
bless me " In prayer God and the soul meet, and hold 
communion together ; then the curtain of heaven is 
drawn aside, that I may look in, and see my targe pos- 
sessions ; then do I get a glance of the King in his beau- 
ty, and a glimpse of the excellences of the life sbove, 
so that I am filled with wonder, and desire to depart, 
and to be with Jesus. This is the well at which I arink 
the heavenly water, and am refreshed and strengthen- 
ed for my journey. Lord, while allowed to come into 
thy presence [Iness, let secret sin, (ah ! what 

avails it that the worid does not know ?j never cause a 
seciv before thee. Meantime, may I know in 

whom I beiieve, to whom I reveal my cause, and utter 
my complaint, and rejoice because the day is approach- 
ing when I shall not n^ed to ask any thing, because pos- 
sessed of all. O eternal triumph ! when my prayers 



56 solitude sweetened; or, 

shall be turned into praise, my complaints into accla- 
mations of joy, my mourning, sighs, and groans, into 
hosannas and endless hallelujahs ; when beams of glo- 
ry shall dilate my ravished powers of mind, and sacred 
plenitude overflow my raptured soul forever. 

MEDITATION XXVI. 

ON A BLIND BEGGAR. 

June 1, 1757. 

Poor man I thou walkest in darkness, though pre- 
sented on every side with noon-day beams. Thou must 
commit thyself to the conduct of thy fellow-creatures, 
and by them be led from door to door, seeing k< those 
that look out at the windows are darkened " Who can 
but sympathise with thy condition, and pity thee ? Poi- 
son unknown to thee may be poured into thy cup; thou 
mayest fall into the lire or the water, or the ditch ; may- 
est dash thy foot against every stone, and have the na- 
ked sword brandished at thy breast, while, ignorant of 
thy clanger, thou makest no attempts to escape. 

How melancholy, then, the case of the men that are 
spiritually blind, that drink the cruel " poison of asps, 
that fail into every sink of sin, that run into every dan- 
ger, rush " on the bosses of Jehovah's buckler," and 
oppose their hardened breast against the naked point of 
justice's flaming sword ! And how Sad that the persons 
in this condition* ignorant of their clanger, should sport 
with wrath, and make a mock at sin ! 

If we heard of whole nations struck blind, and not 
one left to lead another, but all perishing in this deplor- 
able situation, how would we feel in the tenderest man- 
ner for them ! Now, are there not whole nations that 
sit in the region and shadow of death, that grope in the 
darkness, and never find their way to heaven ? For 
them, therefore, we should feel in a manner tender above 
expression, from the very bottom of our souls. To 
the benighted tribes, would not mankind from every 
quarter of the globe, send to afford them all possible 
relief ! And should not all Christian powers exert them- 
selves to their very utmost, to spread the saving know- 
ledge of a Saviour among the heathen ? Couid a man 
recover the blind, how would they gratefully accept the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. $7 

cure, and bless the healing hand ! But, in a land where 
life and immortality are brought to light, how many sit 
in the shade, and will not quit their gloomy cell for all 
the beauties of the day ? Happy those who have the 
eyes of their mind opened, and in his heavenly light see 
light clearly ; who see the deformity of sin, the beauty 
of holiness, the excellency of religion, the necessity 
of the new birth, the preciousness of Christ, and short- 
ly, in the light of glory, shall see as they are seen. 



MEDITATION XXVII. 

LOVE IN SAINTS. 

Love is a passion planted in theiiuman breast, which 
once was wholly a right seed, but isuow turned into the 
degenerate plant of a strange vine. Ere sin entered 
into the world, love wholly centered on God ; then the 
fire burnt purely, and the soul ascended in the sacred 
flame to God. Then there was sweet intercourse be- 
tween heaven and earth, and man maintained commun- 
ion with his Maker. Admiring the beauties cf creation, 
his soul with pleasure ascended up the streams of crea- 
ted excellencies, to the fountain of uncreated glory ; 
and, ravished with the view, he saw his interest in his 
Maker to be of another kind than the lower world could 
claim. This was bliss, and it was this made paradise 
so near akin to heaven. This, and not the blowing 
flowers ; this, and not the verdant groves ; this, and 
not the spreading streams ; this, and not the fragrant 
gums ; this, and not the bending boughs ; this, and not 
the warbling tribes ; this, and not a cloudless sky ; this, 
and not the sight of angels ; this, and not their mutual 
love, made our first parents happy in their first abode. 

But man no sooner admitted sin and Satan in, than 
God in justice drove him out of paradise, and from his 
station too ; and what tongue can tell his sad condition 
now ? His love is not only cooled towards God, but cor- 
rupted from God ; hence he worships the creature 
more than the Creator, who is God over all blessed for 
ever. As the lion with terrible majesty hunts his prey 
through the trembling forest, while the spider, with si- 
lent cunning, catches the fly sporting on the window* 



58 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

or entangled under the web ; so, from the throne to the 
dunghill, every person pursues vanities adapted to his 
state, but quite destructive to his immortal soul. O 
how has man gone back by a perpetual backsliding ! 
God punishes it in an awful manner; for as they like 
not to retain God in their knowledge, so God gives 
them up to a reprobate mind. They choose their ways, 
and God chooses their delusions. God is not in the 
counsel of their heart, and they are not under the con- 
duct of his Spirit. They provoke Gcd to anger by their 
vanities, and he puts them to pain with vexation and wo. 
But what is still more to be wondered at, is, that after 
God has given the brightest manifestations of his infi- 
nite love, in readmitting the rebel into friendship, 
through the sufferings of his well-beloved Son, man 
should still pursue shadows, and pour his love on per- 
ishing trifles. And art not thou, my soul, blame-worthy 
here, that art busied every day about vanities, but coid, 
key-cold, in love to the Perfection of beauty." 

Surely the angels of light, and the spirits of just men 
made perfect, are surprised to see the expectants of the 
same glory, deluded, charmed and enchanted with per- 
ishing vanities, and not enraptured with the Chiefest 
among ten thousand. The inhabitants of the better coun- 
try despise our sin-burnt beauties, and worm-eaten excel- 
lencies ; yea, they would blush to mention our delights, 
or to take up the object of our love in their lips. What 
would a seraph care for the sceptre of a terrestrial em- 
pire ? or a glorified saint for the government of an 
earthly kingdom ? And why should I, tnen care so much 
for less things, who, in my expectations, am travelling 
to the same place, and rising to the same glory ? 

May I, then, for a moment draw aside the curtain of 
time, glance into the other world, and get a glimpse of 
the object of my love. Ah me ! the vision is too bright, 
the glory too refulgent for my feeble sight: See all 
the heavens enlightened witli his glory ; crowned with 
majesty divine, he fills his lofty throne, and sways the 
sceptre far through all existence. See seraphim and 
cherubim bow before him, and mighty angels fall pros- 
trate at his feet. Yea, see him in thy nature stand and 
plead for thee, not forgetful of thy need, nor deaf to thy 
distress, amidst bis boundless glory. See approaching 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS.' #9 

myriads, even the ransomed nations, sick of love, adore 
him in unutterable strains. And why dost thou not love 
him ? Thou canst not doubt his power, for he is God; 
nor his compassion, for he is man ; nor his salvation, for 
he is God-man in one person. All heaven is eternally 
enamoured with him ; and it would be rebellion to bid 
them lift their love, and lay it on any other. The Fa- 
ther loves him, angels love him, saints love him ; and it 
is pleasant in the eye of God that the excellency of all 
fcilness should dwell in him. Under how many ties am 
I to love him ! for what he hath been, what he is, and 
what he will be to me ; for what he hath done, what he 
is doing, and what he will do for me. Before he made 
the world my salvation was secured in the sure decree; 
thus with an everlasting love he loved me ; and why 
with loving-kindness should not I be drawn ? Then ho 
rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his de- 
lights were with the sons of men. 

Again, I should love him for what he is. But here- 
w r ords cannot express my thoughts, nor my thoughts my 
subject. He is the mighty God, on my side 1 The Creator 
of both worlds, for me ! Hi:, perfections are infinite, in- 
numerable, and eternal ; he is self-existent, self-suffi- 
cient, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, unchange- 
able, and independent. He is holy, just, and good, mer- 
ciful, faithful, long-suffering and compassionate. In a 
word, God is love ; and love begets its like in the soul 
of every saint, who is filled with wonder at the person 
of Immanuel, who is every thing that they or I can need. 
He satisfies every longing desire, performs every en- 
dearing office, as prophet, priest, and king ; fills every 
tender relation, as kinsman, friend, brother, father, hus- 
band. Love shall be the subject of my song for ever. 

Again, I should love him for what he will be to me/ 
Nov/, he will be my God even unto death ; my shield 
and sun in the dark vale of dissolution. He will bring 
me into the palace of the King, with joy on every side ; 
will be my temple in the highest heavens, and my por- 
tion through the endless ages of eternity. 

Likewise, how should I love him for what he has 
done, is doing, and will do to me ! — Forme he hath done 
great things, whereof my soul is glad. He has, by ma- 
king his soul an offering for sin, satisfied justice, mag- 



60 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR 



nified the law, removed my guilt, and reconciled my soul 
to God. — For what he is doing : He is appearing in the 
presence of God for me, pleading my cause, interceding 
on my behalf, and offering my pravers with his own in- 
cense at his Father's throne* He is ordering all things 
well for me, perfecting what concerns me, hearing my 
petitions, marking my requests, numbering my groans, 
telling my wanderings, and putting my tears into his 
bottle ; and, as my feeling High Priest, sympathizing 
with me in all my afflictions. — Lastly, for what he wfif 
do : but who, besides thee, O God ! knowest what thou 
hast laid up for those that wait on thee ? Eye hath not 
seen, ear hath not heard, nor can the most capacious 
soul conceive, of that abundant bliss, which only can be 
revealed in the enjoyment, and known in the possession. 
O happy day ! when I shall put off mortality, and this 
clay-tabernacle, and join the shining assembly of sinless 
adorers, whom he feeds and feasts with the fatness of 
the higher house, satisfies with his likeness, replenish- 
ing every power with his plentitude, and ravishing the 
whole soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

Come, then, my soul ! icok from the height of per- 
ishing things to the mount of God, where every soul 
glows with sacred love, and dwells among the assimila- 
ting flames. Didst thou see a man of three-score years 
chasing flies and leathers, like the child of three, What 
wouldst thou think of him ? And while the world is thy 
chase, what, O my demitted soul ! shall I conclude of 
thee ? Ransack the whole creation of God, and see if 
all its excellences together can vie with one ray of his 
glory, one beam of his love : then let his iove to thee 
constrain thy love to him, and thus begin the work of 
heaven on earth. 

The perfection of bliss in heaven shall consist in the 
perfection of love, for love is the sum of felicity Take 
away love from heaven, heaven could no more boast of 
its unbounded bliss. Life, light, love, are the trinity of 
perfection, and the perfection of the adorable Trinity. 
Of all the heavenly graces, love only returns to heaven, 
without any change, but of putting on perfection, and 
casting out fear. To dwell in love, and to dwell in God, 
cannot be separated ; and the more I dwell in love, the 
nearer I dwell to God below ; and when at last I rise to 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 6* 

the highest degrees of love, I shall arrive at the nearest 
communion with God. 

Roll on, ye longed-for days, and come, thou everlast- 
ing dawn, that I may plunge Into this sea of bliss, this 
ocean of eternal love, and know what it is to love himt^ 
the full, whom here I scarcely dare allege I love. 



MEDITATION XXVIIL 

LOVE IN GOD. 

Love in the saints is a noble grace, but superla- 
tively glorious in God. Gn it -angels look, and ad- 
mire; and I should look and adore. Every thing in 
God has the majesty of a God. Hence his mercy is in 
the heavens ; his truth reacheth to the clouds ; his 
justice is like the mountains ; his judgments are a 
great deep ; his pity is like that of a father ; his patience 
great to a miracle ; he is ready to forgive ; his good- 
ness is abundant unto all ; and his love, in height, 
breadth, depth, and length, past knowledge. Although 
the mercy-seat that dwells so long between the cheru- 
bim of gospel-grace shall in a little be turned into the 
fiery throne of judgment, and long-abused patience in- 
to indignation and wrath ; when the royal signet, that 
sealed the salvation of thousands, shall stamp the ir- 
reversible doom of an unbelieving world ; yet love in 
God shall undergo no change, Here, it shines as the 
morning-star, through the scattered clouds ; there, as 
the noon-day sun, in the illuminated regions of glory. 

m From everlasting 1 ta: everlasting " is the epithet of 
love. A love without beginning and without end, gives 
a bliss without limits and bounds. This amazing love 
of God produces a sweet similitude in the love of his 
saints^ so that, as the one measures with the existence 
of God, from everlasting to everlasting, the other 
measures with the existence of the new creature, from 
the hour of conversion to all eternity. Their gifts shall 
end, their graces change, faith be turned into vision, 
hope into fruition ; but love shall neither end norchange; 
it shall heighten and brighten in the altitude of glorv, 
when the drop is lost in the ocean, when the soul f& ; - 
F 



62 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

rives at its centre, and rests, with ineffable complacen- 
cy, and unknown delight in God. 

Again, O how free is this love of God ! nothing mov- 
ing him to love. When we love, it is for something 
we think excellent and agreeable to us ; but he loves 
the naked child when weltering in its blood, and, as a 
proof of non-such love, dresses, salts, swaddles, clothes 
it, and makes it comely through his comeliness being 
put upon it. 

Again, his love is a full love. The oceans ebb and 
flow ; if at one time they cover the shores, at another 
time they leave their beds bare and dry ; but his love 
is perfect in its plenitude, notwithstanding these bound- 
less oceans that have watered the whole universe ; that 
have run in mighty torrents among the angelic and 
seraphic hosts above, and in amazing inundations among 
fallen men below. — Though there be repeated mani- 
festations of love to his hidden ones, and thousands of 
his favourites feast on this heavenly food, while travel- 
ling through the howling wilderness ; yea, through the 
egress of "love, through the unnumbered ages of eter- 
nity* snal l De continued to the glorified throng, still its 
ardour and exuberance will be evermore the same. 
The ocean will not be one drop less for all the water- 
ings of the fields of bliss. After the Sun of Right- 
eousness, through a duration in eternity beyond ex- 
ception, and above the reach of thought, has illumina- 
ted the spacious continent of glory with his beams, not 
one ray, not one irradiation, shall be in the least dimin- 
ished. 

Again, his love is efficient, active, and an operative 
love. I may love a fellow-creature, or an absent friend, 
and yet avail them nothing, nor they so much as know 
it ; but the love of God, like the light, reveals itself 
wherever it is. Love draws, and we run ; his love 
constrains, compels our love ; for a pardoned sinner 
cannot choose but love. Wherever the heavenly spark 
falls, it sets the soul in a flame. 

Again, the love of God is a fixed and unchangeable 
love ; and the more the soul is in sorrow or distress, 
the more free and full are the communications of divine 
love. In the time of need, the world's love will eive 
us the slip ', but in the most calamitous circumstances, 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 63 



sacred love performs the part of two loves, and stick- 
eth closer than a brother. Mortals' love, (alas! bow 
many can attest the truth of this !.) may to-day appear 
ardent, steadfast, and sincere, but to-morrow be en- 
tirely cooled ; yea, converted into slander, hatred, and 
revenge. But let ail the sons of God know, that divine 
love shall be to them what the holy waters were to the 
prophet, ever on the increase, till it be an ocean to 
swim in for ever. Against fears on every side this is 
comfort, that God will rest in his love. 

Divine love is also a beneficent love. Jonathan loved 
David exceedingly, but could not do much for him, nor 
save him from being expelled his native country ; but 
the love of God is fruitful of every blessing ; is the 
tree that bears all kinds of fruits that nourish the soul, 
and feast every power. The love of poor men can 
bring no advantage to the persons loved ; but when 
God sets his love upon a sinner, ail at once, he who had 
nothing of late, has all things, life, liberty, friends, 
riches, glory, a kingdom ; sufficiency here, and all- 
sufficiency hereafter ; in a word, all that can be named, 
sought after, wished for, or thought upon. Then, ye 
sons of earth ! hug yourselves in the embrace of wealth, 
and bless your own condition, but presume not that you 
are the favourites of Heaven because his common pro- 
vidence pours upon you. As for me, may I be the 
object of this love, and, in spite of poverty, I am rich $ 
in spite of sin, I am secure, and walk on triumphing 
to the better country. 

But again, the love of God is an intimate love. O 
how the high and lofty One reveals the secrets of his 
covenant, and the sweets of his love to the soul, where 
he condescends to come and dwell ! When by the Ho-i 
ly Ghost the love of God is shed abroad in the soul, 
what heavenly joy refreshes the whole inner man ! " I 
know thee by name," says Job ; " I beseech thee show 
me thy glory," says Moses. The intimacy begun in 
time, is the bliss of eternity, and in greater or lesser 
degree is the privilege of every believer. ^ ne mora 
our fellowship is with the Father, and his Son Jesus 
Christ, the more of his divine likeness we shall put on ; 
and in the other world, in the different degrees of as- 
similation to God, consist the different degrees of glory 



64 



SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 



Again, the love of God is infinite ; and what that is, 
none but an infinite Being knows. Ours is a spark, his 
the sup ; ours a drop, his the ocean. 

Again, his love is uninterrupted. Not sin within us, 
hell without us, nor Satan accusing us at the throne, 
can interrupt his love ; this is encouragement to serve 
him in spite of sin, and in the face of enemies. 

Lastly, his love is eternal. Heaven and earth shall 
pass away, but love will not. Time must end, but love 
attends the saints beyond the grave. Death cools the 
love of the nearest relations, but cannot separate from 
the love of God. Love is the quintessence of bliss, 
the heart of heaven, the joy of angels, the song of the 
redeemed, and the character of God. O happy day I 
when I shall rise to enjoy love that transcends the glory 
$f the redeemed, and all the anthems of angelic choirs i 

MEDITATION XXIX. 

DISSOLUTION. 

If there is a time to rejoice, there is also a time, yea, 
many a time to mourn ; and God has set the one c ver 
against the other, that men may not forget themselves. 
This day I have attendee the funeral of a friend, who 
is carried away from his weeping widow, and fatherless 
children, who all bewail him ; yea, sighs may be heard, 
and sorrow seen in the countenances of his acquaint- 
ance. With all the pomp of wo we attend him to the 
tomb j friends gaze wistfully as the envious mould con- 
ceals him from their sight. The ceremonies are con- 
cluded, and alL retire as concerned with him no more. — 
Though sea and land cannot separate between living 
friends, yet three feet deep of earth separates betwixt 
the dead and the living, unties bonds, dissolves rela- 
tions, and perpetuates the disjunction. 

Poor woman ! why dost thou weep ? Thy husband is 
not dead, but sleepeth. His weary dust is not carried 
to gloomy confinement, but laid to rest on a bed of un- 
disturbed repose. He is delivered from toil, from 
trouble, and from sin. The sword of the ioe cannot 
affright him ; the tongue of the slanderer cannot dis- 
turb him -, the envy of hell cannot distress hjm. Fira 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. £5 

may calcine his lifeless ashes, but cannot consume his 
hope. Earthquakes may cast his body out of the grave, 
but cannot awake him out of his sleep. While thus 
his body rests, his soul triumphant reigns ; and having 
dropt his frail mortality, he is now as an angel of God. 
Reserve thy tears for more mournful times, nor grieve 
for him who is happier than thou canst conceive. En- 
viest thou for his sake ? Wouldst thou have him less 
happy, that thou mayest be less miserable? Though 
thou shouldst be drowned in sorrow, he is all song ; and 
not the deepest anguish of his dearest friends, though 
placed in his eye, could give him one moment's pain, 
interrupt the anthem, or mar the heavenly melody. 
Why should all thy mental powers suffer in the tem- 
pest of thy soul, because the gracious Pilot of souls 
from storms and tempests, darkness and distress, rag- 
ing seas and roaring winds, has landed thy friend safe 
on life's pacific shore ? A little, and a friendly gale 
shall blow thee after him. Then spend not the short, 
(who can tell how short ?) interval in repining at his 
passage, but in preparing for thine own. Indeed, a 
word sad enough, thou art a widow. Well, God is the 
widow's judge out of his holy habitation, and can be 
better to thee than ten husbands. If faith be strong, 
thy refuge is not weak. Hast thou fatherless children ? 
leave them to God, he will preserve them alive ; and 
happy the orphans whose God is the Lord ! 

But what instructions should arise from the whole to 
me ? Why, I should live above this present state, be- 
cause I am shortly to pass from it. Neither should I 
envy the worlding's heaps, or the increase of his glory, 
which cannot descend after him to illuminate the solita- 
ry cell. The inside of the royal sepulchre is as dark to 
the interred king, as the intermingling mould is to the 
meanest corpse ; and mortality is preached alike from 
both. None have a glorious passage through the vale 
of the shadow of death, but such as walk in the light of 
his countenance, whose beams dispel the glooms of death, 
and guide them through the darksome steps to bright 
eternal day ! 

Again, in this man, (and a few days will realize the 
scene,) I see myself dead, buried, and forgot. And 
however fond our friends may be of us when alive, yet 
F 2 



66 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

when we breathe our last, we must be buried out of 
their sight. O to have an interest in that best of friends, 
in that sweetest love, who, when the whole world casts 
"us out, will receive us to himself. 

MEDITATION XXX. 

THE DEATH OF THE WICKED. 

The wicked and the righteous live a different life, 
and die a different death. Have not mine eyes beheld 
the melancholy scene ? — one posting into the unseen 
world, unprepared and thoughtless, unless conscience, 
though a long slumberer, be unwelcomely awaked at 
last. But perhaps he may sleep on in carnal security, 
till, stripped of flesh, he plunge into the raging flames 1 
Have Dot mine eyes seen a dying person, (me thinks I 
see him still,) tossing and tumbling under the gnawing 
pangs of some acute disease ; sleep debarred from his 
eyes, on whose lids sat the shadow of death, calling of- 
ten, and in a melting manner, for help from his physi- 
cian, but in vain ? Every power is invaded, every part 
besieged, and death denies a moment's respite from the 
war. Yet we hear not one word of his eternal state, of 
his immortal soul ; nor one request for mercy, from 
God as reconciled in his Son. The world, when well, 
was ail his care ; nor can he alter, when sick, his favour- 
ite schemes. As he listed he lived, and as he lived he 
dies. As the tree grows, so it falls. Then may I live 
to God, and die in God ; — grow to grace, and fall to 
glory 1 

Friends and spectators are very much concerned to 
see him writhing under the agonies of death, and sym- 
pathize with every groan ; but for the most part look no 
further, nor pity his soul, that is in a little to fall into 
the hands of the living God But the combat is increas- 
ed, the attack is visibly more stout, and strength to re- 
sist is sensibly decayed. His friends, careful but too 
late, call mightily for prayer now; as if God could be 
forced into friendship with the man, at his last moments, 
who has been all his life his foe, or heaven won for him 
who never sought for it ; yet prayer is our duty at the 
last* hut dangerous to delay to the last. At length. 



MISCELLANEOUS MKDITATIOKS. 67 

amidst insupportable agonies, he yieldeth up the ghost* 
and is no more. Attending friends pour out their sor- 
rows in a flood of tears, yet are not a little glad to see 
his suffering body lie at rest ; and then they dress his 
stiffening limbs, and wound his lifeless clay. They are 
fondly ignorant of the state of his soul, and gladly hope 
the best But will ye talk deceitfully for mercy, to the 
injury of adorable justice ? At death, shall heaven be his 
possession, who would not have a gift of it on earth I 
Shall he dwell with God in eternity, who walked con- 
trary to God in time, nor repented at death ? 

All is hushed, and those concerned are quiet again ; 
the tears dry up, and it is irreligious boldness to look 
beyond the grave. But mine imagination follows him. 
Forbear, presumptuous thought, and mind thine own 
concerns ! Ah 1 I must peep into eternity, and, through 
the telescope of revelation, see him brought before the 
bar, and found to have lived and died without God 1 Oh t 
his fearful doom ! vengeance awakes against him, the 
vengeance of eternal fire, and he is thrown into the fla- 
ming gulf of hell, where deep he sinks, below my ven- 
turous thought. His friends refresh themselves, and 
comfort one another, till they recover their wonted 
mirth and jocundity ; but not a drop of water to cool his 
scorched tongue ! The ensuing night shall partly repay 
the watching and wakeful nights they have had about 
their friend ; but his eyes shall never shut, but keep 
open with ghastly stare, looking for the wrath, however 
much he feel, which is still a the wrath to come.'* 
Their sorrow gradually abates, but his anguish is ever 
on the increase. Our remembrance of him rots into 
oblivion, as his clay crumbles into corruption ; but 
wrath never forgets its prey, vengeance never forgets to 
afflict. 

Still my sympathy would penetrate the dark abyss, 
and look with pity on my damned acquaintance. Poor 
soul ! where is all thy usual mirth and merry jests ? 
are they now for ever fled, zu\d thine uninterrupted ex- 
ercise, unceasing howiings, and unavailing complaints ? 
Now thou art where sympathy avails thee not, where 
pity cannot enter; no purgatory this, through which 
thou shalt one time or other pass ; it is thy final doom r 
thy fixed eternal state. My troubled thoughts are wea- 



68 SOLITUDE SWEETENEB ; OR, 

ry among the shriekings of the damned, nor longer ca» 
abide among these shades of horror. Yea, now 1 am 
not bound to sympathize with the eternal, irreconeilea- 
ble enemies of Jehovah and the Lamb. The day of 
grace is past, the hour of mercy over ; sin is finished, 
and hath brought forth eternal death ; despair is final, 
enmity consummate, and the breach is wide as the sea 
of eternity ; who can heal it ? 

Let me turn, then, my voice unto the sons of men. 
A few moments, and your state, like his, is fixed ; will 
ye, then, adventure not only to sport, but to sin away 
your time, which is so precious, and in which you are to 
make sure an happy eternity ? There are no offers of 
salvation beyond the grave ; there is no godly repent- 
ance in the pit. Now your misery has the heavenly 
balm of God's mercy, and here mercy rejoiceth against 
judgment ; but there your misery shall not, even in its 
longest duration and highest degree, excite mercy, but 
rather awake fiercer wrath ; while in your agonies you 
blaspheme the awful avenger, who in the destruction of 
mercy-despisers shall rest satisfied. Then give your 
eyes no sleep, nor slumber to your eye-lids, till you find 
a dwelling in your heart for God, and a chamber in his 
promise, an interest in his Son for your soul, that you 
may be hid in the day of visitation, and in the desolation 
that shall come from far. 



MEDITATION XXXI. 

THE TRAVELLER. 

Gentlemen of taste go frequently abroad ; and it is 
so much in vogue to wander over some part of the world 
once in life, that he is hardly accounted an accomplish- 
ed gentleman that has not spent a part of his time in 
climes and countries remote from that which gave him 
birth ; whence he returns rich in observations, and 
mightily improved, having made an accurate survey 
among whatever people he came, whether as to the gen- 
ius, stature, complexion, religion, laws, government, 
rites, and dress of the natives ; or the merchandize, pro- 
duce, rivers, soil, air, language, &c. of the country. 
And does this render men more agreeable company, to 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS, 69 

have glanced from head to foot, as it were, over onlf 
one page of the great volume of creation ? for what is 
our earth in comparison of God's handy works ? 

His observations must be few, since the shortness of 
his life forbids him to stay long abroad, unless he in- 
tends to drop his dust in the tour ; which unhappy- 
event has many a time sent sorrow across the seas, for 
the dear youth that shall see his native land no more* 

Now, to compare earthly things with heavenly, how 
accomplished must the soul be, that shall be an eternal 
searcher into the perfections of God, an entranced be- 
holder of the beauties of paradise ; that shall take a 
tour through the fields of bliss, and be a traveller in the 
region of glory ! If this molehill heap be surprising for 
many things found therein, as mountains towering to 
the clouds, volcanoes vomiting melted fire, extremes of 
heat and cold, and creatures of tremendous shape and 
size, and all in this small speck of creation, what must 
the numerous excellences be of his kingdom, which is 
higher than the heavens ! O the beauties on the other 
side creation ! O the glories that beam in pure essen- 
tial day ! All things in time only improve us for one 
another in the things that are temporal ; but there the 
improvement is for eternity, and the mind enlarged for 
God. O happy day 1 when I shall rove over the ex- 
tent of paradise, lost in wonder, and ravished with de- 
light, amidst his excellences! O the innate beauty of 
his laws, the glory of his reign, the splendour of his 
throne, the mysteries of his being and subsistence, and 
the wonders of his love ! O the comely proportion of the 
inhabitants of the better country ! O the rivers of plea- 
sures that water the true Canaan ! How pure the reli- 
gion of the inner temple I What ecstacy and ravishment 
shall rise from beholding all these beatitudes, all these 
glories, as one interested in them all ! 

Travel, then, ye sons of fortune, towards every wind ; 
rest not in the old world, but ransack the new : Let no- 
thing pass unobserved, and be delighted with the pro- 
ductions of the fertile Arabia, or the teeming Indies : 
Let the magnificence of the opulent East attract your 
attention, and the curiosities of the learned West gain 
your regard : Not satisfied with the narrow appearance 
of this atom hung upon nothing, I wait for the dawn? 



70 solitude sweetened; or, 

ing of celestial day, to commence an everlasting travel- 
ler through ail the glories above. Surveying the per- 
fections of God, I shall hold on my journey through 
unnumbered ages. In my tour, I shall find curiosities 
which could never enter into the conception of travel- 
lers below. Let them talk of the magnificent structure, 
or pleasant situation of the metropolis of every king- 
dom, I shall see the city of the mighty King, whose 
foundations are precious stones, whose walls are jas- 
per, whose gates dre pearls, and the streets and city 
pure gold, like transparent glass ; whose laws are love, 
and whose light is glory. I shall see the people that 
are immortal, and cannot die ; — a kingdom where every 
subject is a king, where every servant has a throne, and 
sways a sceptre. I shall see an assembly of worship- 
pers, that are all priests, high-priests, and are admitted 
into the holy of holies for ever. I shall see the blessed 
effects of death, and the ecstacies of men that spring 
from the agonies of our incarnate God. I shall see fi- 
nite and infinite dwelling in one person, children of 
wrath made heirs of life, and the family of heaven mar- 
ried to the family of earth, yea, to the heirs of hell ! 
These are wonders to be wondered at, mysteries to be 
dwt It upon, divine curiosities to be recorded on the ta- 
ble of my heart, and mentioned in the grateful accents 
of my song. Then hasten, Lord, that day when I shall 
set out for eternity, and commence my journey, my im- 
mediate journey to thy throne, there to explore the 
adorable perfections of the Godhead, the mysteries of 
the Trinity, and all the glories of the upper world. 



MEDITATION XXXII. 

GRACE IN THE BLUSH, SIN NOT ASHAMED. 

It is one of the most surprising things that I have 
ever observed, That sanctity should be ashamed to look 
out, but iniquity show itself at noon. Hence it is one 
of the greatest blessings promised to the lower world, 
that " iniquity, as ashamed, shall stop her mouth ;" 
which supposes, that in bad times she has an impudent 
loquacity, both a whore's forehead in refusing to be 
ashamed, and the tongue of a strumpet in scorning t© 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 7! 

be silenced. Hence the company of rakes over their 
bottle, are not shy to open to another the mystery of in- 
iquity in their most abandoned actions, and to glory in 
their shame. But when do the saints of God in private 
conversations, to the. praise of glorious grace, tell one 
another what the Lord hath done for their souls, and re- 
joice in his goodness ? O deplorable degeneracy ! shall 
iniquity not only rage, but reign ; and righteousness, 
like the natives of a conquered kingdom, that dare ndt 
show their countenance among their new neighbors, 
lurk in secret ? Is this, professors of piety, your kind- 
ness to your friend ? Shall open rebellion against heav- 
en be winked at by those that are maintained at the 
King's table ? Shall the words of sinners be stout against 
God, and your words not stout against them ? Who 
should be ashamed, if the sons of darkness are not ? 
Who should face the broad day, if the abettors of vir- 
tue do not ? Yet the one will avow the very practice 
of iniquity, the other hardly the profession of piety ! 
The gentlemen of the army will dare, in defiance of 
the laws, to swear by the sacred name, while the ambas- 
sador of Jesus is ashamed to own his office, or avow his 
message, in reproving the open breach of Heaven's eter- 
nal law. 

It is the most unpolite appearance one can make in 
company now-a-days, to speak any thing of religion, or 
let it be known that you are a Christian. Better reveal 
the secrets of necromancy, and the arcs of magic, than 
to speak of the depravity of human nature, and the ne- 
cessity of regeneration. If you speak one sentence in 
favor of godliness, the spiritual life, or heaven ly-mind- 
edness, it is hardly pardonable by the free-thinkers of 
the day. If you adventure to say any thing against the 
more prevailing and fashionable follies, every one will 
be on your top, and you will be set up as a scare-crow 
in the table-discourse of all your acquaintance, who will 
pity your frenzy, and pronounce you delirious. And if 
it comes abroad that you live near God, and above the 
vanities of time, you will forthwith be a gazing-stock to 
all, who will stare at you as if you were come from ano- 
ther world, and were not a fellow-creature. But if you 
keep silence at sin, smile at their fi^cca dittos* and live 
in concert with the madmen of the world, you will be 



*2 SOLITUDE SWEETBNED ; OR, 

the best company, and the most social man alive. Thus, 
by continual scoffing, sin is grown brazen-faced, and re- 
ligion wears the blush. Yea, some well-meaning men 
are sinful temporizers, by keeping silence, through the 
fear of men, which brings a snare, when they ought to 
speak. 

But remember, that they who are ashamed of the Son 
of man before this adulterous and sinful generation, of 
them, (and how will ye like that ? ) shall the Son of 
man be ashamed before his holy angels. Be bold, ye 
sons of virtue, then; maintain the rights of heaven a- 
gainst the troops of hell. Take courage to yourselves ; 
the cause is good, and conquest shall crown the stout 
contender in the quarrel of God. Wherever sin, in the 
discourse of any, vilely vents itself, expose to shame the 
ugly monster. A consciousness of guilt is in it, and 
guilt is always interwoven with fear and shame so that 
it must surely blush ; but, if their seared consciences 
flout at thee, pity them, and warn them of the fearful 
awakening that awaits the long and thoughtless slum- 
berer. If thou live near God, live undisturbed, though 
the lips of malice exclaim against thee as an hypocrite* 
as one full of ostentation, or a brain-sick fanatic. 

I know the cause of silence in many a pious soul, is, 
lest they should be left to fall away from what they have 
so zealously espoused, to the dishonor of religion, and 
opening the mouths of enemies to blaspheme. But 
beware of circumscribing the grace of God, lest he 
measure to thee according to thine opinion of him. 
Never let the fear of falling into sin in some future 
time, drive thee from thy present duty ; for to neglect 
present duty, is present sin. If thou shalt fall from 
the support of his declarative glory he may cut off from 
thee the supplies of his grace, and make that which 
thou unjustly fearest, justly come upon thee. Be for 
God in thy day of integrity, and God shall be for thee 
in the day of temptation. Exercise thy grace for his 
praise, and his grace shall always be sufficient for thee. 

Alas i after all that can be said, iheve is still room to 
complain ; for, if this detestable taciturnity that pre- 
vails in our day, increase as it has done for some time 
past, it will not be long till there will not be a word of 
religion in the mouths of the inhabitants of this isle< 



MISCELLANEOUS MBDITATIDNS. 73 

But, may this spiritual captivity be turned as suddenly 
as streams come rushing from the south hills, when 
there falls a heavy rain. 

Such is the deplorable in differcncy about divine things 
among the sons of men at this day. Oh ! when will 
matters mend ? when shall religion be openly avowed 
as an honor to the rational soul, and every one speak 
of God, and for his glory ? Let the Spirit be poured 
out from on high, and the wilderness turned into a fruit- 
ful field, and the fruitful field rise into a statelier for- 
est. And let Israel take root downward, and fill the 
world with fruit. Theri shall iniquity, as ashamed, stop 
its mouth, and hide its head; then judgment shall dwell 
in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruit- 
ful field. Such, (0 to see them !) should surely be 
some of the glorious days of the Son of man ** 



MEDITATION XXXIII. 

GOING TO A FAIR. 

The heavenly mind has this advantage, that it can 
Spiritualize every business, and moralize all occurren- 
ces of life. As, then, I am this day going to a fair, let 
me call to mind the comparisons, or the similitude be- 
twixt this market and the market of grace. 

I. From all quarters men come hither; so is it in the 
market of grace. 2. None are hindered to come here 
to merchandize ; so is it in the market of grace. 3. AH 
kinds of goods are to be found here ; so is it in the 
market of grace. 4. Parties meet here, bargains are 
made, and business done ; so is it in the market of grace. 
5. Numbers are to be found here, who cannot tell what 
brought them hither; so many attend the ordinances, 
from custom, to see, or to be seen. 6. The fair is by- 
public authority; so is the market of grace. 7. Some 
stand all day idle ; so is it in the market of grace. 8 
Some go home with large profits ; so do all they that 
rightly improve the market of grace. 9. But some re- 
turn immense losers ; so must they that slight the mar- 
ket of grace. 10. Thieves, tinkers, and piek-pockets, 
attend here to ruin honest folk ; so Satan, sin, and 
worldly cares often rob us of spiritual things in the 



74 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OK, 

market of grace. 11. Dealers, returning home, con- 
verse wholly on the course of their business through 
the day ; as they who have found the true riches, the 
pearl of great price, in the market of grace, will speak, 
think, and meditate much thereon ever after. 12. This 
fair is but of one day ; so the market of grace comes 
to an end, and people may outlive the day of grace ; 
therefore, every one should embrace the present offer. 

But how great the excellency of the one above the 
other I 1. All things here are for the body ; there all 
things are for the soul. 2, Nothing here goes without 
money ; but all things in the glorious market of grace 
are without money, and without price. 3. If I sit my 
market to-day, I shall repent to-morrow ; but the mar- 
ket of grace is continued to many poor souls many 
years. 4. Without the one we may live ; but wanting 
the other, we must die. 5. it is indifferent whether we 
buy or not here ; but, in the market of grace, we must 
be dealers, or we dishonour God, and sin against our 
own souls. 6. To take goods here without money, is 
dishonesty; but, to offer our pelf for the merchandize 
of heaven, is 'damnable. 7. We plead and press for 
commodities at a low price here; but God importunes, 
and presses us to buy the gold tried in the fire, that we 
ipnay be eternally rich. But G how are the men of the 
world assiduous about the affairs of life, while they 
neglect the great concern ! Well do we know what 
makes for our behoof, as to the things of time ; but 
how careless are we with respect to the things of eter- 
nity 1 A shower will excuse from walking two miles to 
a sermon ; but a very rainy day will not deter us from 
this place of business, though three times the distance. 
O corrupt nature ! that counts it a great deal of happi- 
ness to meet with merry companions, to drink, rove, 
ramble, see, and be seen. But how far beneath the 
dignity of the human soul, to forget itself amidst a hur- 
ry of trifling concerns for a transitory life. 

It is, indeed, the duty of all men to attend to their 
business, and guide their affairs with discretion. They 
may meet, therefore, on days appointed for that pur- 
pose ; but, when the mind gets a wrong set, by the van- 
ities that are to be seen there, is infected with a roving 
disposition, and can triple away time that is so precious, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 75 

and must so punctually be accounted for ; when men 
continue till liquor inflame them, how far is aiis beneath 
the Christian character 1 It should be our constant care, 
then, wherever we go, whatever we do, to bear the 
omniscience of God in our mind, that, while we man- 
age our business with discretion, we may serve our God 
with undistracted devotion. 



MEDITATION XXXlV. 

AFTER SICKNESS. 

What shall I render unto the Lord for all his kind- 
ness unto me 1 The sorrows of death compassed me 
about, the pains of the grave took hold on me ; my 
feeble joints were made to smite together ; disease at- 
tacked every part, and rapidly prevailed. Mine eyes, 
with languid looks, spoke forth mine inward trouble. 
My throbbing heart spread sense of pain through every 
member, and vexing dreams disturbed my night's re- 
pose. But what was ail this to that confusion my sym- 
pathizing soul was in ? No composure there. I could 
not meditate with calmness on my final change, that 
seemed to await me ; nor could I inquire aright into 
the case of my soul, that I thought would soon be dis- 
lodged this body, and brought before the bar of God. 
Htnce I learn, that health is the proper time to pre- 
pare for sickness, death, eternity. The new, the spir- 
itual life, is too late in beginning, when the lamp of 
natural life is about to be blown out. Yet the men of 
the wurld postpone the most momentous business to 
their last moments. O 1 my soul, come not thou into 
their assembly ; with their procrastination, mine hon- 
our, be not thou united : 

But what shall I render to the Lord for adding to my 
days I I yet live, yea, and am well. The canopy of 
the heavens might have been converted into the crumb- 
ling clods, or covering worms ; the light of the w r orld 
into the shadow of death, and time into eternity ; and 
my broken strains of praise into perpetual silence ; for 
the living only can praise thee, as I do this day. By 
how many ties am I thine LJ am thine to all eternity, 
because redeemed from everlasting wrath ; and thine 






76 solitude sweetened; *r, 

while I dwell below, because redeemed from temporal 
death. Many times, before I could expect it, deliver- 
ance came, and mercy prevented me. Shall thy good- 
ness be forgot, or thy love seem little in mine eye I 
No, for should not that life be spent to thy praise, that 
is preserved by thy power, restored in thy pitying mer- 
cy, lengthened out in thy love, and covered with thy 
protection ? Death, with his malignant troops, is now 
again discharged the field, and I almost a prisoner of 
the grave, set at liberty, before I was fast locked in the 
irons of corruption. Was my life precious in thine 
eyes, who am of so little moment among so many mil- 
lions of beings dependent on thy throne ? Would I have 
been missed among them, if removed ? No ; yet thy 
never-failing kindness would not, as yet, let me drop 
among the congregation of the dead I How should my 
love live to thee, whose love to me is so active, exube- 
rant, and foil i With the recovery of my health, let 
every grace revive : and let my soul, as a watered gar- 
den, be put into a flourishing condition. And, if spar- 
ed to old age, when others fade, may I bring forth fruit, 
be fat, and flourishing. Yea, in the last decline of na- 
ture, when my outward man decays, let my inward 
man be renewed day by day ; may my views of his glo- 
ry be more bright, my faith more active, my hope more 
£x^d, my hsart more established, my affections more 
purified, my desires more heavenly, my longing after 
complete fruition, and uninterrupted communion with 
God, increased, and my soul set on fire of love, and 
filled with heaven, till I, at last, am taken into that 
land, where the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick, 
because the people that dwell there are forgiven their 
iniquity. 



MEDITATION XXXV. 

FRAMES OF SOUL VARIABLE. 

It is the greatest display of spiritual folly to build 
on a frame. A frame is a certain heavenly disposition 
of the soul. Now, to rest on any thing in ourselves, is 
to destroy ourselves ; for. the noblest attainment is to go 
wholly out of ourselves, |jp rest only on Christ. If I 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 77 

do otherwise, I provoke him to remove, by placing the 
effect of his presence in the room of himself, and then 
my mountain, which I thought stood so firm, is imme- 
diately removed ; God hides his face, and I am troub- 
led. Heavenly frames, and glorious manifestations, I 
should seek, not to rest upon, but to be refreshed with. 
Christ may come into a frame, but I ought to beware 
lest I keep the frame, and let Christ go, who is to be 
sought for himself, found in himself, in the promise, in 
his unchangeable love, and not in a frame. 

To have a cold, insensible heart, is a comfortless con- 
dition ; but, to have Christ who always brings melting 
of heart, and a revival of graces with bim, is good, and 
is a prelude of the happiness to come. When I prefer 
the attendants to their prince, and hug these when I 
should honor him, this is the way to make him with- 
draw his visits, and refuse to come again till I confess 
my folly. Hence am I chastened with so many changes 
in my soul ; sometimes standing on Mount Pisgah, then 
grovelling in the valley of Achor; sometimeswalkingin 
the light of his countenance, then going mourning with- 
out the sun ; sometimes admitted with boldness to his 
throne of grace, where he fills- my mouth with argu- 
ments, then finding a cloud spread on his throne, that 
my prayer cannot pass through, nor I order my speech 
by reason of darkness ; and all this to chasten my folly, 
and make me adore his sovereignty, who comes and 
goes at pleasure. Of such a place, and such a time, 
one may say, It was Bethel, the house of God, and a time 
of love ; but neither the Bethel of God, nor the time of 
love, is to be the confidence of the soul, whatever com- 
fort it may afford. The God of Bethel, the God of un- 
changeable love, is~ to be the strong tower to which ev- 
ery believer must always resort. To live by faith, is 
more noble and more safe than to live by sense. 

Now, in these things, God teaches me to esteem him 
more than any thing from him ; the enriching hand 
that gives, more than the gift that enriches ; yea to de- 
pend more on his permanent promise, than on his pas- 
sing presence. For, though the one should be plea- 
sant,like the voice from the excellent glory on the mount 
of transfiguration, yet the other is the more sure word 
•f prophecy, of inspiration, to which at all times we 
G 2 



* 



7 8 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

should betake ourselves. And this we should remem- 
ber, that the continuation of that ravishing frame of 
soul, (a gale of which sometimes the favourites of hea- 
ven feel blow through their mind,) is reserved for the 
happier state above : But it should occasion the extrem- 
est sorrow, if we send away our Beloved, who is wil- 
ling to abide with us " till the day break and the shad- 
ows flee away." This I may learn, that it is good to 
hold him in the promise, whatever be the condition of 
my soul. O deplorable imperfection ! When he is ab- 
sent, despair begins to appear ; when present, spiritual 
pride i& ready to spring up. But while he in wisdom 
comes and goes, it keeps my soul in exercise, going 
forward and backward, to the right hand and to the left, 
in quest of him, restless till I find him. Thus the soul 
is prevented from sitting down on a sinful security, or 
falling asleep in the arms of downy delusion, perhaps 
to awake no more. Yea, this exercising of my soul 
keeps every grace active ; his coming hinders me from 
failing into the low dungeon of despair, whence I might 
come up no more ; and his going away prevents my 
climbing the slippery precipice of spiritual pride, 
whence I might fall and break all my bones. 

I desire, both in temporals and spirituals, to make 
the dear prophet's triumph of faith mine ! " Though 
the fig-tree should not blossom ; though my graces 
should seem languid, and low ; though darkness should 
sit down on my soul ; though he should keep back the 
face of his throne ; though my soul should forget her 
prosperity ; though, when I pray and cry, he should shut 
out my prayers ; though Satan should roar at me, temp- 
tations rendezvous against me, corruption rage within 
me, and hell gape for me ; yet I will rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Yet I 
plead that thy presence may cheer me in the wilderness; 
for if thy presence go not up with me, I shall never be 
able to go hence. But may thy spirit dwell within me, 
and seal me to the day of redemption. Then my joy 
in believing shall be turned into an ecstasy of beholding 
the God-man, in all his amiable perfections ; then 
frames of soul shall be sinless, holy, and screwed to 
the most elevated height of rapture and delight ; then 
I shall praise without interruption, and adore Without 
distraction. 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 79 

MEDITATION XXXVI. 

THE UNCONCERNED SPECTATORS. 

Sorrow is the continual attendant on human life. 
Every day, to some poor sufferer, is darkened with dis- 
tress, and yet the spectators are frequently no more 
concerned, than if the patient were only to set out from 
the city to his country-seat. Were a king coming to 
sit in judgment on a beloved friend, and to examine 
strictly his actions upon life and death, could we shake 
ourselves free from a thousand agitacing thoughts I dis- 
lodge our breasts of anxious fears, and many a fervent 
wish ? Now, when a person is pining on a sick-bed, or 
expiring on a death-bed, the King of king* seems to 
mount his judgment-throne, and order this arrested 
pannel into his tremendous presence, where the exam- 
inatioii will be strict, and the trial issue in eternal life 
or dea'Bi. And yet how trifling often is the discourse of 
the attendants! how jocular and sportive their talk! But, 
O ! if the invisible world of spirits would flash full in 
their face, if but all the disembodied souls of their ac- 
quaintance would start up around them, how would 
they stare and be distracted i though they can now daice 
about the grave, and laugh amidst the giooms of death. 
To this invisible world their friend seems fast going, 
and they, in spite of all their stupidity, are fast follow- 
ing. When I look into the bed, and see my poor fel- 
low-creature in that humbled state, it excites my sor- 
row ; and when I look round the company in their ap- 
parent incredulity of a future state, it so moves my 
compassion, that I am at a loss whether most to pity the 
dying, or deplore the living. 

But, my soul, be not thou an idle spectator also. 
Know the sentence, that all must die, reaches thee as 
well as others. Perhaps death has the summons in his 
hand already, or is filling his quiver with arrows for the 
decisive battle ; nay, he may be placing an arrow on tne- 
be.tded bow, to sink the sickening shaft, into thy heart- 
str^^s. 

Hkm that is born of a woman Is of few days ;" this 
all Hie nations know ; " and full of ^rouble ;" this I dai- 
ly findj^L U He cometh forth as a flower," frail and fading; 
U ^ e tR^ a * so as a sniAclow j" quickly gone, and quite 



8t SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

forgot. I carry death in iny mortal body, which, like a 
fiery spark concealed within, will sooner or later lay the 
house to ashes. 

It is but a small thing to grapple with death, to enter 
the lists with the king of terrors, or be inclosed in the 
gloom of the grave ; but it is another thirrg to enter into 
a world of spirits, to launch into an unknown and end- 
less eternity, and see God face to face. Roman forti- 
tude may dismantle itself of clay, defy the grave and 
brave death ; but nothing but a well-grounded faith can 
carry one calmly, cheerfully, and comfortably, into a 
fixed, a future state. 

The things of life are of small account at death. 
What can riches do, but encumber with too much splen- 
did care, and troublesome attendance ? What can a char- 
acter do, but publish his decease ? What can opulence 
and honor do, but give a pompous funeral, and a costly 
tomb ? What can friends do, but weep about the bed, 
and bewail their dying relative ? But thy love, dear 
Lord, can enlighten my passage through death, and 
lead me safely to my Father's house* 



MEDITATION XXXVII. 

DEATH A BLESSING TO GOOD IVfEN. 

Why so much complain of death ? It is true, it is the 
fruit of sin, for by sin came death into the world ; but it 
is also true, that it is the finisher of sin to the godly, for 
by death sin shall be cast out for ever. Sin, conveyed 
to us in our conception, is so interwoven with the hu- 
man frame, that the tie must be dissolved betwixt the 
soul and body, before a full and final separation can take 
place between the soul and sin. Who, then, would 
fear the furnace that is only to consume the dross, that 
the gold may come forth without alloy ? What candi- 
date for heaven would be averse to lay down mortality, in 
order to take up immortality ? to put off this corruptible, 
in order to put on incorruption ? to have his body^^Wn 
in dishonour, in order to be raised in honor and^Hf ? 
and to have the soul dislodged from his body, that sin 
might be dislodged from his soul r Why, then^ should 
I be displeased at such a glorious exchange ?^Tc lay 



r. 
MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS, 81 

down frail flesh, feeble nature, all my lusts and passions? 
occasions and temptations to sin, my infirmities and im- 
perfections, and to be clothed with perfect beauty and 
eternal glory, might rather transport than perplex me. 
Wherefore tremble at the ghastly gloom, that shall 
beam into a boundless noon ? or startle at the dark step 
that shall usher me into eternal day ? If my separation 
for a few years from my friends, issue in uninterrupted 
communion with God, is not the change most happy? 
If my distant views, and dim glances of the land afar 
off, and the King in his beauty, pass away, that the 
nearest approaches, most steady views, and brightest 
visions, may eternally take place, am not I a gainer to 
the highest degree ? Then, Lord, take away the sting 
of death, and at thy appointed time, through faith, I 
shall fly into his arms, not dismayed at his coid embrace, 
burning with an heavenly desire to be for ever with the 
Lord ; which is far better than all the happiness of 
crowns and thrones below. 



MEDITATION XXXVIII. 

MERCY GOING BEFORE GOD, MAKES MEETING HIM 
A MERCY. 

1757. 

God and I must meet ; there is a day appointed for 
it ; and surely the thoughts thereof would be like death, 
and worse, were I not assured that mercy goes before 
his face. Why, then, should I be afraid to meet with 
God, since mercy goes before his face ? Mercy means 
no ill, — will do no harm, — displays the flag of peace, — 
proclaims the manifesto, that " mercy shall be built up 
fbr ever." But how shall I know that mercy goes be- 
fore his face ? Because truth goes hand in hand with 
mercy; and the veracity of truth forbids me to doubt 
the certainty of mercy. How must the heart of a guil- 
ty rebel rejoice to find that pardon is proclaimed by his- 
offended Sovereign ! Mercy and truth are the best 
means of preserving the kings of the earth, and when 
they exercise it, their throne is upholden by mercy ; but 
the King of heaven, in every act of his administration, 
preserves mercy and truth, and in them establishes his 



82 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR, 

throne. The King- of kings will never go without his 
royal retinue, his life-guards ; mercy and truth shall 
form the van ; justice and judgment support his throne ; 
infinity) eternity, and immutability carry his crown ; 
power and omnipotence bear the robe of royalty; wis- 
dom and righteousness hold the regal sceptre ; good- 
ness and holiness unfurl the flag of majesty ; gracious- 
ness, long-suftering, and patience, proclaim his sacred 
name ; and love encircles all the flaming train. In ev- 
ery circumstance, then, I can be in, I have comfort; 
for, in his providence towards me, mercy goes before 
him, and it works for my good ; yea, even in my afflic- 
tions, mercy goes before him, and I am chastened, that 
I may not be condemned with the world. Thus, mer- 
cy is the precious ointment that, in all things, at all 
times, and in ail places, casts its pleasant scent abroad, 
ana perfumes his conduct towards me. And whenever, 
or wherever I meet God, whether in the dissolving 
pang, or solemn appearance at his bar, I shall find him 
a reconciled Faiher, and ail his bowels yearning on the 
son of his adoption. Neither the hour of death, there- 
fore, nor the day of judgment, shall terrify me. "But 
I will sihgof tiie mercies of the Lord for ever; with 
my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to ad gen- 
erations. For I have said, Mercy snail be built up for 
ever ; thy faithfulness shait thou, in the sight of all the 
ransomed nations, establish In the very heavens !" 



MEDITATION XXXIX. 

THE NECESSITY OF AFFLICTIONS. 

Jan. 28, 1758. ^ 
I coMr-LAiN without a cause, seeing it is good for 
me that I be afflicted. Whatever be food to the soul, 
surely affliction is physic ; and if there is a necessity of 
the one to preserve life, there is a necessity of the oth- 
er to preserve health. Can a much esteemed flower 
think that it is unkindly dealt with, because the weeds 
that twisted with its roots are plucked away with force, 
such force that the flower seems to be pulled along ? 
Just so am I displeased at severe afflictions, sent to root 
out some* rampant lusts, or deep-rooted earthly affec- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 83 

tions, when afflictions less severe would prove ineffec- 
tual for such a noble end ? Corruption is not totally re- 
moved, it is only subdued in part ; but the more I am 
afflicted, the more it is subdued. Neither is grace per- , 
feet here; but the more grace is exercised, the more 
perfect it grows. The better part never suffers in afflic- 
tion ; for, even when it is so ponderous and crushing, 
that under it the outward man decays, and wastes away, 
yet the inner man is renewed day by day. For very 
shame, can I take it amiss, that my sins are mortified, 
my lusts subdued, my fond and foolish desires repri- 
manded, my afflictions purged, my eager grasp of crea- 
ted things loosed, and t'nat I am, by line upon line, af- 
fliction on the back of affliction, instructed of the vani- 
ty of all sublunary things ? Again, dare 1 be displeas- 
ed, that, by various, repeated, and uncommon afflic- 
tions, and from sinful instruments too, my faith is tried, 
my patience and resignation proved, my love and es- 
teem of heavenly things heightened, and all my graces 
improved, invigorated, furbished, to the glory of God, 
and advantage of my own soul ? 

Every new trial is like a new combat set to the valiant 
hero. If he comes off a conqueror, it is another trophy 
to all his former victories, and a fresh display of his 
military skill in the eyes of enemies and friends. There 
never was a traveller to the throne of God, but pursu- 
ed his way through the thorny path of affliction ; and 
yet there is not, this day, one person in all the august 
assembly of the higher house, that has the least com- 
plaint upon the hardships or afflictions that befel him. 
by the way. Why should I, then, so much complain 
of the deep steps and rugged roads, the stormy days 
and dark nights, that distress me in my pilgrimage, see- 
ing that, when I shall see things in the Hght of glory, 
I »shall approve of all ; and the storm of hail, claps of 
thunder, and midnight gloom, shall only add to the va- 
riety of the subjects, and multiply the stanzas of my 
eternal song. 

While here below, the intoxicating juice of carnal 
pleasure breeds diseases ; so that the bitter potion of 
affliction is absolutely necessary to dispel those infec- 
tions which threaten damage to the soul. Since it iff 
not my happiness to be free from sin below, it is my 



84 solitude sweetened; or, 

happiness that I am not without afflictions, which are a 
noble antidote against sin. I have reason to bewail, bit- 
terly to bewail, the corruption of my nature, but not 
the correction of my corruption. Were I punished as 
I deserve, instead of being washed with the soap and 
nitre of castigation, I would be swept away with the 
besom of destruction. What condemned criminal 
would rage at the loss of a finger, who deserved to have 
lost his head ? So, why should I repine at a little ill, 
who deserve a great deal worse ? Indeed, at all times, 
and in every case, I should not look to the hand of God, 
but into his heart ; not barely look u/ion the providence 
with fear, but into the promise with faith ; where, be 
the providence adverse or prosperous, to my comfort I 
em told, that all things work together for good to God's 
called and chesen ones ; and if my fluctuating breast is 
composed amidst all my sorrows, by a firm belief of 
the promise, that happy moment I find the promise per- 
formed to me ; and aver, with the royal sufferer, " It 
has been good for me that I have been afflicted." 



MEDITATION XL. 

SAINTS UNKNOWN, STARS UNSEEN. 

Feb. 14, 1758. 
As there are stars in the sparkling firmament of hea- 
ven of different magnitudes and glory, so there are 
saints of different stations in the church of God. Some, 
like stars of the first magnitude, point out the way to 
bliss ; while others, like stars of a second, third, and 
fourth magnitude, sparkle with an upright walk, and 
heavenly conversation, and condemn a wicked world. 
All these glorify God, as it were, in an active mann^'j 
but there is another class of his precious ones, who glo- 
rify God only in a passive manner, compared to others. 
These are the secret, private and retired Christians ; 
who, like the stars that lie concealed in the amazing 
voids of space, and never strike the naked eye, nor 
seem connected with our system, are only known to 
God. But as the glory of God's creating hand, though 
less visible to us, is as really displayed among those 
otars that he has stationed so sublime, as among those 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 85 

which he has dropped nearer to our earth, so he is glo- 
rified by the private, as well as the public Christian ; 
and the resignation of the one to the divine disposal 
may be as acceptable to God, as the more active labors 
of the other. How is God satisfied, so to speak, to see 
his creature wholly at his command ; his will moulded 
into the will of the Most High, his desires measured 
by Heaven's distribution of mercies, and his ambition 
only to be like God. Here the whole man, with his 
whole concerns, is wholly devoted to God. Here rebel- 
thoughts are slain, and the unknown saint only waits 
the will of God to fall in with fully, freely, and with- 
out reserve. Such a heart God dwells in, and such a 
soul is his throne. Nothing pleases God better, than 
when all he does pleases his people. Thus the soul ri- 
pens for glory, and a sacred interesting correspondence 
is carried on between the heart and heaven. The man 
rolls himself and all his concerns over on the indisputed 
will of him that cannot err. Nothing can go wrong 
with the man, because divine wisdom orders all for him; 
yea, what he thinks hard in itself, if he have no sinful 
hand in it, he embraces and submits to, because of him 
that sends it. He sounds God's praise loudest, who is 
silent before God. While the profession of some is 
blazing, the love of his soul is burning. While others 
march heavenward in the broad day, and before the wide 
world, this is a walk within doors, in his own house at 
home. Of all things, grace grows best in retirement, 
and, like Jacob, when left alone, he wrestles with the 
angel of the covenant, for blessings to himself, his fam- 
ily, the church, and the whole world. He is not less 
circumspect that not an eye is on him, but keeps clean 
hands, from a clean heart ; not like the painted hypo- 
crite, that must be religious for credit's sake. He has 
his conversation in heaven, and his communion with the 
Most High. Happy is he in his life, happy at his death, 
for he lives with God, dies in the Lord, and goes to be 
for ever with the Lord. 



86 SOLITUDE sweetened; or, 

MEDITATION XLI. 

THE EXCELLENT HAPPINESS OF THE BLESSEB. 

Spit heady May 21, 1758. 
Time is short, and eternity is long ; yet, in this short 
time, I must prepare for long eternity. O ! what a 
duration is before me ! but what an infatuation is with- 
in, me, that I should mind the trifling things of time, 
and forget ihe interests of eternity ! Truly, when I 
compare eternity and time, I am astonished that eterni- 
ty does not swallow up time in my concerns and medi- 
tations. With what night-visions, deceptive phantasies, 
and delusive dreams, are we entertained here, in com- 
parison of that divine understanding, intuitive knowl- 
edge, noon-day discoveries, vigour and activity of soul, 
we shall be possessed of, when we awake to immortal- 
ity, from all the slumbers of a transitory life 1 And yet, 
(wo is me !) am I not more anxious to grow in earth, 
than to grow for heaven ? Will not the fear of temporal 
losses at times outbalance the joy I should have in be- 
lieving ? While God and glory have a passing medita- 
tion in my heart, have not the vanities of the world a 
permanent mansion ? Does not worldly sorrow take 
deeper root in my soul than spiritual joy ? And, were 
my thoughts counted one by one, while vanities reap 
the whole harvest, sacred things have scarce the tythe 1 
Is this, alas ! the behaviour of a candidate for bliss, the 
practice of an expectant of glory ! One thinks least on 
•what he loves least : O mournful conclusion ! that I 
love God least, since he is least in my thoughts i But, 
let me rise in my contemplation, and see the goodly 
hosts of the ransomed nations, dwelling in the noon-day 
display of his glory, possessed of pleasures free as the 
fountain whence they flow, and full as their unlimited 
desire. Their souls are replenished with the most re- 
fined satisfaction, sacred delight, and substantial joy. 
What an august assembly are the inhabitants of the bet- 
ter country ! wearing crowns, holding sceptres, reign- 
ing on throues, walking in white, exalted in their na- 
tures, their conceptions bright, their visions cloudless, 
their thoughts elevated, their songs transporting, their 
happiness confirmed, their love burning, and all their 
powers entranced for everi 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 87 



Seeing such, and much more, (for eye hath not seen, 
ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart 
of man to conceive what God hath laid up for them 
that love and fear him,) is the happiness of the trium- 
phant throng, who have the substance, marrow, and 
kernel of bliss, no wonder to see the saints settling 
their affections on the things above, and longing to join 
the happy company. 

What, then, though it be a steep ascent to the mount 
of God, since verdant arbours, and a blooming para- 
dise, are on the summit of the hill. A prospect of the 
heavenly state might make me lie, without repining, in 
the dungeon of a prison, till the very moment I were 
brought to the palace. What though I bear my cross 
till the day I wear the crown ? or die daily, till Christ, 
with whom my life is hid in God, appear, and I appear 
with him in glory ? Should any thing below move him 
who has his portion above ? Should the pleasures of the 
world, which are but painted clouds, and airy appear- 
ances, entice him, or the troubles of the world terrify 
him, who is in a little to take his eternal farewell of 
both ? Let adversities keep close at his heels, heaven 
has an open door for him, into which, while they must 
stand without, he shall enter, and remember his mise- 
ry no more. Hence let it be my daily study to walk hi 
the view of a world to come, till that happy day when, 
(O wondrous word !) I shall enter into the joy of my 
Lord. 



MEDITATION XLII. 

ONLY A RUMOUR HEARD OF THE TRIUMPHANT STATS. 

Sfiit/iead, May 22, V758. 
This thought is now come into my mind, that the 
triumphant state of glory is but little understood, even 
after all the divine descriptions given thereof in sacred 
revelation. Not that God cannot tell, but man cannot 
hear ; for when Paul was caught up to the third heav- 
en, and had his ear opened to hear the Hosannas of the 
higher house, he says, he heard ineffable things, which 
it was not fit, proper, or becoming for a man to reveal, 
because the language of eternity cannot be adapted t$ 



88 



solitude sweetened; or, 



the dialect of time. After all the pleasing and glori- 
ous metaphors used to represent eternal felicity, sail 
there is a deficiency, thoup.i> neither from the fulness 
of that felicity, nor tie divine Reluter, but from us who 
hear. Were the definition too refined, the relation too 
sublime, we should not be able to comprehend it. 
Therefore, things that make up the exec fences of this 
lower world, on which men fix their esteem, place their 
delight, and settle their affections, are chosen to ad- 
umbrate it. Hence it is called a kingdom, for there 
the King Eternal keeps his coutt; there majesty and 
honour, glory and renown, are before his face ; there 
are vast dominion, noble privileges, sweet society, and 
mutual connexions. But as a kingdom is subject to 
anxiety and change, therefore it is called a crown of 
life, a crown of glory, that fadeth not away ; an eternal 
day, where saints shine as suns ; a royal paiace, where 
there is unceasing harmony, and divine delight , tin 
inheritance in light, and an house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. And as paradise, or the garden 
of God, was the sum of created perfection, whence 
the first Adam was driven, so the heavenly state is cal- 
led paradise, being the place where the brightest dis- 
play of uncreated glory is given, and whither the se- 
cond Adam, Lord of ail, as a public person has en- 
tered. Gems, pearls, and precious stones, which men 
wear on their hands and heads, are but the metaphors 
of their streets and walls, which are far more excellent 
than those things that shadow them out. What, then, 
must be the liberty, the privileges, the happiness of the 
inhabitants ! But as death destroys ail possessions, and 
darkens the brightest day, therefore this is a state of 
the most permanent bliss, immortal life, eternal vigour, 
and perpetual bloom. But as to live alone is not con- 
sistent with complete happiness* or congruous to the 
human soul, that is not made to be alone ; so in the 
better country there is an innumerable company of an- 
gels, the general assembly and church of the first-born, 
and God, Father, Son, arid Holy Ghost, in whose pre- j 
sence is fulness o£ joy, and at whose right-hand are 
pleasures for evermore. Rivers of living water, and 
the tree of life bending with fruits of paradise, set out 
the sufficiency, satisfaction, and redundancy of spirit- 
ual refreshment and delight that abound there. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 89 

But still there is something in the blessed state above 
which supplies the soul with the fullest tides of sere- 
nest rapture, ecstasy, and joy, of which all these de- 
scriptions of felicity come infinitely short ; and that is, 
vision, and fruition of the Lamb, participation of the 
divine nature, living in and with God, and commun- 
ion with Jehovah, screwed up to the highest pitch of 
divine intimacy, carried on through eternity in an un- 
interrupted out-going of the soul towards her supreme 
and chief good, and receiving the divine emanations of 
all his* adorable perfections, breathed by the Holy Ghost 
into all the panting, enlarging affections, and powers 
of the sanctified soul ! But what this is, who can tell ? 
How shall finite and infinite meet ? Will God in very 
deed dwell with man and in man ? Shall man in very 
deed dwell in and with God ? Shall a finite spirit have 
communion with the Father of spirits ? Oh ! what re- 
mains to be revealed in that exalted state, which has 
not yet entered into the heart of man ! Prepare my 
soul, prepare for that felicity to come, which is suffi- 
cient to satisfy with transport and delight ten thousand 
heavens of seraphim, much more my shallow mind. 



MEDITATION XLIII. 

PHILOSOPHY. 

Sflithead, May 27, 1758. 

Truly philosophy is a study much commended, and 
deserves it in its various branches. Where the works 
of nature are narrowly surveyed, they fill the mind with 
wonder and delight, and prove that their Creator must 
be God. 

O ! says one, how the study of astronomy exalts the 
soul ! And then he expatiates on the starry heavens, or 
firmament ©f suns, with their dependent planets, or 
worlds unseen, and carries on his fruitful theme, till 
his lectures have filled the extension of space with spa- 
cious habitations for intelligent, though unintelligible 
beings. But, to leave the philosopher to his own con- 
ceits, true or false, there is a study which as far excels 
it, as it excels the ignorance of the illiterate rustic ; and 
rises infinitely higher in the object of its wonder, and - 
H 2 



90 solitude sweetened; ok, 






subjects of its inquiry ; and this is, the sacred study of 
religion, which :s the wisdom that as far excelleth, not 
only folly, but philosopy, as light excelleth darkness. 
The philosopher's themes are high in comparison of 
liim who is only amused with mean, low, sordid, and 
selfish things, (and if not our highest themes, they are 
allowable ;) but how low and grovelling, in comparison 
of divine perfections, which entrance the meditant, and 
transform the student. The philosopher, not content 
with the earth to circumscribe his studies, grasps at the 
extended heavens ; but the Christian, content with nei- 
ther, seeks after him whose throne is higher than the 
heavens;. " Whom or what have I on earth but thee I 
whom or what have I in heaven but thee alone, O 
Lord?" 

Philosophy describes created light ; but religion 
leads us to the Father of more excellent lights, and 
super-eminent glories. Astronomy struggles with the 
laws of the stars, disclosing to us the wonders of the 
sky ; but divinity brings us beyond them, to him who 
counts their number, calls them by their names, and 
holds them in his hand This explains the labour of 
his hand, that explores the love of his heart. The one 
leads us to see the palace, the other to behold him who 
dwells in the heaven of heavens, in eternity unknown. 
Let the philosopher dwell all his days upon the solar 
beam, its vivifying and fructifying influences, its quick 
transition to our earth, its curious intermixture of col*' 
ours, while nothing is discernible but light; I say, 
though he should spend all his time on these studies, 
yet it shall never alter his countenance, or give a visi- 
ble external lustre thereto ; but Moses, when only for- 
ty days in the mount with God, receives such a stamp 
of divinity on his soul, and such a tinge of the celestial 
beauty on his countenance, that the skin of his face did 
shine. Nor was this Moses' privilege alone, but is the 
privilege of every saint in every age : "We all, with open 
face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are 
changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by 
the Spirit of the Lord." An holy life, or communion with 
God, not only changes their appearances, but the place 
of their abode ; for though the earthly philosopher re-* 
mains still below, yet the spiritual philosopher translates 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 91 

his seat above, dwells on high, has his conversation in 
heaven ; yea dwells in love, and therefore dwells in 
God, for God is love. 

Thus the pious soul who dwells alone, and is not reck- 
oned among the sensible or polite part of the people, 
may improve to a miracle in divine knowledge, while 
the most penetrating philosopher, unless skilled in this, 
must leave his studies in the midst, that have amused 
the more knowing part of mankind, and at his end shall 
be a fool. — While others increase in knowledge, may I 
increase in love. And while they arrange the stars in- 
to their several houses, may 1 be taken up about the 
bri-ght, the morning Star. Let them describe the hea- 
vens, and all their signs ; I will, with the boldness of 
faith, draw near to him, who spreadeth them as a cur- 
tain, and stretcheth them out as a tent to dwell in. 
"While they see a thousand beauties in the sky, " which 
is strong, and as a molten looking-glass," I will fix the 
eye of my soul on a more glorious looking-glass, the 
face of Jesus, and there see brighter displays of much 
diviner glory. Let the sun be the subject of their 
theme, as well as the centre of their system ; but I will 
adore the Sun of Righteousness, whose beams outshine 
created lights, and illuminate benighted souls, though 
the bright lamp of day could never pierce the eyes of 
one born blind. Choose you the worlds unknown for 
your studies, I will choose the world to come for my 
meditation. 

O how is sacred love to be aspired after ! As it is the 
fulfilling of the whole law, so it is the attainment of all 
philosophy ; for he that loves God most is the wisest 
man. O i then, ye virtuosi, while ye increase fn knowl- 
edge, may I increase in love i Let every spark kindle 
into aflame, and the flame at last burn divinely bright 
through everlasting day. Your nice definitions of dark 
things, rack and torment you ; but such studies as these 
improve, compose and satisfy my soul. Finally, when 
the end shall come, all your flourishing themes shall 
Hash flames in your affrighted faces, or tumble down, 
while ye stand trembling amidst the mighty ruins ; but 
from the subjects of religion, the dread catastrophe 
shall only remove the darkening vails, sweep off the 
dimming clcuds, and let eternal things shine forth in 



92 SOLITUDE SWEETENED \ Ok, 

all their native beauty, and essential glory. Then, 
though here I have seen through a glass darkly, I shall 
see face to face ; and though I have been but learning 
the first principles of the oracles of God, yet then shall 
I be admitted to the university of angels, the college of 
perfected and accomplished worthies, where lessons of 
divinity, worthy of the highest seraph, shall be our 
eternal study, and delightful exercise above. 

Now, how excellent is practical religion, for its sub- 
lime subjects, divine virtue, and eternal duration ? The 
subjects that this spiritual philosophy treats of, are God 
in his attributes, perfections, glories ; his works and 
providences ; redemption, in its contrivance, finishing, 
and application, by the Father, the Son, and Holy 
Ghost ; the soul, in its worth and immortality ; and the 
other world, in its certainty and perpetuity. Again, re- 
ligion is excellent, because it ennobles the human soul, 
clothes it with a true greatness, decks it with the beau- 
ty of eternal day, prepares it for glory and for God, 
pourtrays the images of heavenly things on the inward 
part, assimilates to the Son of God, and makes parta- 
ker of the divine nature. And, lastly, its duration is 
eternal : Tongues must cease, and thrones be cast down, 
but the subjects of religion shall remain, and be enlarg- 
ed upon for ever. 



MEDITATION XLIV. 

A WICKED THING TO DEPART FROM GOD IN THE 
LEAST. 

Cancalle Bay, June 19, 1758. 
The Lord is with us while we be with him, but when 
we forsake him, he hides his face and departs from us, 
that we may not depart from him any more. It is dan- 
gerous to let the soul out of the sacred set, the heaven- 
ly frame ; for the inclination being carnal, the affections 
corrupt, the will stubborn, and the heart deceitful above 
all things, and desperately wicked, it is with much ado 
the rebel is brought back again to his obedience. 
Moreover, the soul, above alithings, receives a tinge and 
resemblance of that with wJiich it is most conversant : 
hence the carnal mind holds not with its carnality, but 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. yo 

even turns enmity again* t God; while the soul tln.t e- 
holds the glory of the Lord, is changed into ih^ jarnc 
image, from glory to glory. 

Again, the nearer the soul is allowed to approach to 
God, the easier it is kept with God ; but the further it 
removes from God, the faster it flies from him ; like a 
stone tumbling down a mountain, the velocity of which 
increases according to the distance it has fallen ; and 
which at last, with amazing rapidity, rolls to the lowest 
bottom of the valley. So defection is made by degrees, 
First our love cools ; then our delight in God and in re- 
ligious duties languishes ; then our watch against sins 
and short-comings is slackened; then we count the ser- 
vice of God a weariness ; then our mortification of lusts 
is superseded ; then the performance of religious exer- 
cises proves a burden ; then our affections grow carnal, 
and our meditations vain ; then sins appear, and wc view 
them, first, with no great degree of abhorrence, se- 
condly, with a Friendly eye; thence dally with them, 
and then turn cmenly and avowedly profane. This has 
been the case with some once shining professors. But 
%vhen the saints have gone back from God, though mer- 
cy will not let them fall finally and totally away, yet 
what rueful thoughts, what despairing groans, what 
melting complaints, what terrors of conscience for a 
time, what penitential sorrow and breaking of heart, 
what dreary backlooks on their backs! idings, what an- 
guish, remorse, and pain, what inward vexation, and 
trouble of mind, to think how they have sinned against 
God, thought little of his love, forgot his goodness, 
and buried his mercies in oblivion, have chastised their 
mournful departure from God I till their heart is swept, 
by the Spirit of grace and consolation, of all these ter- 
rible storms, and filled with joy and peace in renewed 
acts of believing. 

But, again, as the soul leaves God in sin, so God, 
may leave the soul in justice, and measure its way into 
its bosom. lie may punish sin with sin ; our going 
away from him, with his going away from us, and per- 
mitting us to go further away from him. He may just- 
ly deprive us of the mercy which we prize not as we 
ought. When we will not hear him, though hs stands 
at the door and knocksj yea, puts in his finger by the 



m 



94 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

hole of the door, he may not hear when we .pray before 
the throne. We think little of that unspeakable privi- 
lege of being allowed to walk with God, but it is a 
mournful thing to walk without him, if once we know 
what it is to walk with him. We should watch our ways, 
guard against the beginning of our wanderings, the first 
straying of cur thoughts from God. For by sad expe- 
rience I may say, that the heart that fixes not on God, 
is tossed to and fro, up and down, like the locust, seek- 
ing rest in many things, and finding it in none. But, 
Oh 1 that when I have flown out of the ark upon the 
flood of vanities, I may not, with the raven, ere I return 
to the sacred resting-place, sit down on dead and despi- 
cable objects, as corrupt in their kind as the carrion 
floating on the face of the waters, but, with the nobler 
dove, return to him whose arm of mercy can pull me 
into the ark again, and encircle my soul with his favor, 
and make her rest with vast delight in his unchangeable 
love. In thy soveg^gnty and love, depart not thou from 
me ; and in thy mercy, iet not me depart from thee. — 
Hold me by thy right-hand, and my soul shall follow 
hard after thee, till thou al lowest thyself, O condescen- 
dency !) to be overtaken in vision and fruition, where I 
shall no more fall away from thee. 



MEDITATION XLV. 

WHO THE GREAT MAN IS. 

Cancalle Bay, June 19, 1758. 
He that bears a commission from bis king, that is, a 
peer, a privy counsellor, or a minister of state, is ac- 
counted a great man. Now, if being near the throne, 
and conversant with the king, makes a man great, clothes 
him with renown, procures him reverence and respect, 
loads him with popular applause, and encumbers him 
with splendor and pomp ; with how much more divine 
and durable honor is the saint aggrandized, who, though 
alone from the world, dwells with God ; and though 
not kno,wii among the busy crowd, resides about the 
throne 1 The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, 
gives his royal assent to their petitions, and will not say 
them nay j yea, " his secret is with them that fear him? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 95 

and he will shew them his covenant." This is greatness 
indeed, to be in favor with him who is a terror to kings ; 
with him to whom kings and their subjects are less than 
nothing, and vanity. 

How are the humble saints exalted in their privileges 
above the grandees of the world ! The King eternal 
is not only their Friend, but Father ; and the Prince of 
the kings of the earth is not only their Benefactor, but 
their Brother, which relation is secured for eternity. 
Again, his gifts are according to his divine dignity. 
None of the kings of the earth can bestow en their 
dearest friends, and most faithful servants, crowns and 
kingdoms. They may indeed divide their own among 
them at their death, in some countries, but in no coun- 
try can they secure the donation, when dead, or per- 
petuate the conveyance. But his favors, who lives for 
ever to see them bestowed, are crowns and kingdoms, 
a crown that fadeth not away, and a kingdom that can- 
not be moved. Yea, his gifts enrich the soul, and mea- 
sure with their existence. 

Monarchs may cause their favorites' names to be re- 
gistered in the list of their privy counsellors, and other 
honorary rolls, but cannot prevent their being buried in 
oblivion ; but the names of all the saints are written in 
the Lamb's book of life, and shall be confessed before 
an assembled world. It is more to know God, than to 
be acquainted with kings ; — to be known of God, than 
to be commended to the ends of the earth. 

Now, what thinkest thou, O poor despised saint of 
God ! that dweilest in a cottage which the great men 
would not stoop to step into, to be so high in the favor 
of Heaven, that a divine guard of heavenly angels is 
set about thy house, that no ill can come near thy dwel- 
ling ? Yea, the sacred retinue, though unseen, attends 
the saint wherever he goes, who walks unobserved 
through the world. Did the royal life-guards of the 
young princes, the rising heirs of heaven, appear in 
the shining livery of him who is the Father of lights, they 
wduld terrify the inhabitants of the earth ; but there is a 
greater wonder, that even the Sovereign of eternity 
should condescend to he the watchman of his people, 
and keep their going out, and preserve their corning in, 
so that neither the moon by night, nor the sun by day; 



96 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

shall smite them ! And what comfort and security is 
this, that the eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath 
the everlasting arms ! Such, O saint ! is thy renown- 
ed state, thine excellent glory, who perhaps art kept at 
short allowance of food and raiment both, with a young 
and needy family sitting heavy on thy mind ; but God 
careth both for thee and them. What then, though thou 
hast crosses oi every kind to meet with, bitter draughts 
of every composition to drink, since it is well with thy 
$ better part? Yea, afflictions capacitate thee for felicity, 
and enlarge thy soul for bliss. But I dare appeal to 
thine own breast, O Child of God ! under all thy trou- 
bles, falsifying friends, loss of relations, or any other 
grief, if thou wouldst change thy calamity with the 
flourishing condition of the wicked ? 

Now thou art great, (for the saints, since they live 
near God, are the greatest men in the world,) and per- 
haps knowest it not; but, let thy greatness kindle thy 
gratitude, not increase thy pride. To keep the saints 
humble, divers afflictions are allotted them in this life ; 
as a royal father, fearing lest his son, the young prince, 
under his present grandeur, and prospect of the crown, 
may swell beyond himself, deals so hardly with him, that 
oft he fears the king intends to disinherit him ; yet so 
many bright displays of paternal affection assure him it 
shall not be so ; and the truth is, it is out of love, that 
he may not mount the throne with. unsubdued passions, 
or sway the sceptre in. thoughtless folly. So it fares 
with the saints, who should know, in the celestial pro- 
motion, that it comes neither from the east, nor from 
the west, not by works of righteousness which we have 
done, but it is God alone that exalteth. My life, then, 
is a paradox ; I am mean, but great ; miserable, yet hap- 
py ; poor, but possessing all things; a beggar, and a 
prince ; but eternity shall unriddle it, taking away the 
one part, and illustrating the other. 

MEDITATION XLVI. . 

WE SHOULD SLEEP NO LONGER THAN TO REFRESH 
THE BODY. 

Cancalle Bay, June 20, 1758. 
Long sleep in any man is blame- worthy, but in a can- 
didate for glory it is a sin. I may indeed rise in time to 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS* 9; 

manage my temporal affairs, as I am seldom behind hand 
with the world ; but what improvement make I for eter- 
nity ? " He that lovcth sleep," though in worldly things 
he may sustain no loss, yet in spiritual things " shall be 
a poor man." When I have a long journey to go, I can 
get up early in the morning, and take the day before 
me. Now, I am on a more momentous, and immense- 
ly longer journey, even to eternity, which cannot be 
delayed a day ; therefore, J have need to take the day of 
time betimes, the day of health and life beforehand, ere 
the shadows of darkness overspread me, wherein no 
man can walk, or the night of death overtake me, 
Wherein no man can work. 

Alas ! allowing that I shall number three-score suns, 
how far ?.m i already advanced towards noon ! how lit- 
tle of the half do I want i a year or two. The past time 
is !os*\ the future uncertain ; but eternity is certain 
anr< approaching. When I look back, how many heal- 
ths hours lost in sleep, superfluous sleep, stare in my 
face ! And row that I am convinced of the precious- 
nes* or ime, shall I squander it away in sleep ? Too 
lat-~ at the dottle, and too long in bed are sins of a deep- 
ye than either th>° tippler or sleeper will allow. 
What will I think, if sickness render me unfit for any 
thing, if inf rm old age confine me to my cn-zy bed ? 
How will I look back with sorrow on vigorous youth- 
ful hours lost in sleep ! hours which might have been 
improven for eternity, and spent in communion with. 
God. Did a friend whom I dearly love, come early m 
the morning to visit me, would I not rise to entertain 
him, not knowing how soon he might go away ? Shall I 
then give the Beloved of my soul worse entertainment 
then my friend ? Sleep is a kind of death ; therefore, 
when asleep, how cm I have communion with God, for 
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living ? He, 
out of sovereignty, may speak to man in a dream, in a 
vision of the night; and sometimes the dreams of his 
people have been divine, so that, when they awoke 
their sleep has been sweet; but the duty of saints is to 
seek him with all the activity of their soul, in the full 
exercise of all her powers ; with the psalmist, to awake 
themselves early, that they may praise him ; 4 to prevent 
the dawning, that they may pray tu him. Hew am I to 



9$ SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

blame, that indulge long sleep ! See the labourer go 
early to the field, the hireling to his work ; and shall I 
lie in bed, like one that has less to do than they ? Did 
my dearest Lord continue on a mount alone, all night 
in prayer to God for me, and the like of me ; and shall 
I not praise him early ? The royal Psalmist could shake 
himself from his midnight-slumbers, to join in the work 
of heaven ; and shall not I rise in the morning ! 

Thus, indeed, 1 think I am punished, that the more 
1 indulge myself in sleep, the more I would sleep. The 
hosts above rest not day nor night ; and I should rest 
only to refresh my body, not to ruin my soul. Alas I 
I have not only long sleep to lament, but that I slumber 
my time away, when awake, without lifting my eye to 
God. Pity, in all respects, O Fountain of mercy I one 
that in all respects deplores himself. 



MEDITATION XLVII. 

OUR ONLY JOY IN VIEW OF THE WORLD TO COME. 

Under sail, June 22, 1758. 

Verily, O worldlings ! I pity you. Now you seem 
to be great, and full of glory ; but though you shine 
without, there is an awful blank within. If in this life 
only I have hofie^ I should of all men be most miserable ; 
for the greatest thing I could either hope for, or desire 
below, are trifling in comparison of the great and glo- 
rious things of eternity that I aspire after. What good 
would my life do me, did I not live to die, that I may 
Jive for ever ? What would my time be, but a rotation 
of toils and troubles, did it not afford me an opportu- 
nity to prepare and improve for eternity ? How would 
every forethought about this present life trouble me, 
did not the solid hope of a future world sustain me i 

As for my part, I would not wish a worse hell, than 
that my habitation among the wicked in Mesech, with 
my unsubdued corruptions and carnal affections, were 
perpetuated. But I know in whom I have believed, 
and that he will not delay to gather his scattered sheep 
together, that there may be one Shepherd, and one 
flock, in the fields above. Eternity is already begua 
in my aoul, aftd my inward part is refreshed with fore- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 99 

tastes of fruition ; hence my thoughts take wing be- 
yond the bounds of time, and dwell, (though, alas ! too 
short,) amidst the glories of the better world. Hence 
I am contented with my present state, and would not 
change with kings ; hence the early beamings of that 
blessed day, when my Beloved and I ehM! "* eeT > ™ P^P 
no more, refresh and ravish all my soul ; hence I tri- 
umph amidst all the transitory scenes of sorrow which 
l labour under, and am not moved, either by unjust 
reproach, or- vain applause. O the emptiness of this 
present world ! but O the excellences of the world to 
come ! Faith and hope cut down, and fetch me some of 
the first-ripe fruits, some of the grapes of Eshcol. 
Surely, this world were a wilderness to me, did I not 
look on myself oniy as a traveller through it, as a way- 
faring man that shall tarry therein but for a few nights. 

There is a restlessness in my breast, that shall nev- 
er be removed till I rest in God. Yea, even now, God 
is the resting place of ray soul, otherwise I should be 
tormented with strong pain, and torn w T ith agonies of 
mind. Yet the most pleasant calm and tranquility I 
enjoy here, through the imperfections of this state, and 
remaining corruption, is far from being complete at 
best, and oftentimes is interrupted ; but the rest I wait 
for, is refreshing, perfect, and eternal. 

Hasten, then, the day when thou shalt descend to 
mount thy glorious throne, and appear the second time 
without sin unto salvation ; when thou shalt accomplish 
all my desires, fill my longing soul, admit me to the 
nearest communion, and satisfy me with the sublimest 
bliss. For this I impatient wait ; and in the mean time 
lay up my treasures in heaven, where I dwell by hope, 
and have taken up my mansion by faith in the promise, 
till the day of my solemn removal come, when, by the 
divine command, I shall be carried over to the land of 
rest. 

Miserable they who have no joy in the prospect of a 
world to come, without which I should be swallowed up 
of sorrow ; who find their pleasure, and place their 
happiness, in the painted trifles of a momentary life, 
but are tortured with the thoughts of eternity, and put 
©n the rack if they glance beyond the grave 



mm 

tQO SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

MEDITATION XLVIII. 

ON THE SCRIPTURES. 

Under sail, near Jersey ', June 23, 1758. 

An entertaining history, or a striking description of 
some famous battle, will challenge our attention, and 
cause us light another candle s bm. a small portion of 
the scriptures suffices us ; yea, some are more taken 
with a well-written romance, than with all the interest- 
ing truths of the word of God. This is cl lamentation, 
arid shall be for a lamentation. 

Ah ! how am I to blame that do not more value this 
invaluable book, where the style is lofty, the images 
striking, the figures beautiful, the harmony conspic- 
uous, the subjects of infinite moment, and the glory of 
God the scope of all. Here corruption and grace are 
pourtrayed to the life, the struggles of the old and new 
man set forth in an instructive light. Here are arrows 
that pierce the stubborn heart, and balm of comfort for 
the bleeding soul. Here kings are taught how to reign, 
and princes how to judge ; and here is an unerring di- 
rectory for churches in their public, and Christians in 
their private capacities, to walk by. This is the ar- 
moury of heaven, from which I may be furnished with 
weapons for my spiritual warfare ; for the sword of the 
Spirit is the word of God. Like a kindly comforter, 
it stills my complaints, chases my sorrows, cheers my 
sinking spirit, revives my hope, strengthens my faith, 
and sets me above the hurricanes of time. This feeds 
me with manna ; not the manna of the wilderness, of 
which all who ate are dead, but the divine manna, pre- 
served in the golden pot of the promise, laid up in the 
ark of the covenant of grace, for all the chosen seed. 
Surely " thy words were found of me, and I did eat 
them, and thy word was the joy and rejoicing of my 
heart." This is the only food that can support the 
strength of the traveller heavenward. This makes my 
table so well furnished, and so richly spread, in presence 
of my ioes. With this my cup overflows; and this is 
my daily allowance from the King'* table, till the day 
I am admitted to sit at table with the King. " The 
words of thy mouth are better to me than thousands of 
gold and silver. I rejoice at thy word as one that finds 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS-. 1G1 



great spoil." Without this sacred book I should have 
no happiness here, no hope for futurity ; for it is the 
Christian's charter for the glorious inheritance above. 
It is my directory in all conditions, at all times, in all 
difficulties, amidst all companies, and in all places. 
To be condemned to read a human composition again 
and again, would be intolerable ; but to be debarred from 
reading the scriptures, would be death. ^ They are al- 
ways savoury and refreshful to the spiritual taste ; as 
the traveller' drinks at the stream that attends him thro* 
the desart, as often as he is parched with thirst, and 
finds it always refreshful. These truths, which at one 
time we read with a belief that they are divine, come 
at another time, when the Spirit breathes on them with 
such power, that in them we hear God talking with us r 
and our heart burns within us. 

Here time is bounded, and eternity brought forth % 
the world set on flames, and the new creation formed ; 
here heaven and earth talk together, God and man con- 
verse ; here conscience is accosted, thoughts discerned*, 
and secrets brought to light ; so that it is both full of 
eyes, and dreadful round about. 

This is the light of revelation that dispels the dark- 
ness of corrupt nature, shows me the world to come as 
present, sets the judgment throne, sounds the trumpet, 
gathers the nations, passes the sentence, and brings in 
eternity. Yea, from this sacred volume, I may learn on 
what hand I shall stand, and what my sentence shall be 
in that tremendous day. 

May I build for myself a dwelling in the J; word of 
promise, which shall stand when the hail shall sweep 
away the refuges of lies. From this dear book will I 
choose my songs in the house of my pilgrimage ; and 
will count myself happier with a few promises from it, 
than if possessed of sceptres, crowns, and kingdoms. 
This is the window out at which the Beloved looks ; 
the lattice through which he shows himself, till the day 
break and the shadows flee away. In a word, this sacred- 
word is the beauteous day-star that gives the pleasant 
dawn, till the Sun himself arise, and shine in the fium= 
ament of glory. 

I. 2 



102 solitude sweetened; on, 

MEDITATION XLIX. 

TRUE JOY. 

At anchor, St. Helen's, July 4, 1758. 

Sometimes, indeed, I am amazed at the joy ©f sin- 
ners while those who have the greatest cause of exulta- 
tion are rather too sad. Yea, I wonder that, on due 
consideration, joy of soul bursts not my mortal frame. 
Though I should never think highly of myself, yet I 
should never think lowly or meanly of the manifesta- 
tions of the love and favour of God. What shall I, then, 
think of this quiet of mind, this peace of God that pas- 
ses understanding, pouring into my soul, and giving 
me the life of a prince, while one would be ready to 
conclude that I lived like a prisoner ? What of this 
dwelling under the smile of Heaven ? this joy that I 
have in believing these transforming glances of glory, 
which give a sweet antepast of the fruition to come, and 
make me long for the day of communion ? What of my 
daily allowance from the table of the King, yea, some- 
times my being allowed to eat at the King's table of the 
hidden manna, and bread of life,' and to behold his glo- 
ry with the eye of faith. 

Surely, then, I ought to sing and rejoice ; for as the 
sorrow of the world worketh death, so the joy that is 
spiritual tendeth to life. God remembers both the place 
and time where he lets out his love to his people ; 
hence, says he to Jacob, " I am the God of Bethel ;" 
and of Jacob to his posterity, " He found him in Bethel, 
and there he spake with vis ; even the Lord God of 
hosts, the Lord is his memorial." " I remember thee, 
the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals." 
Dare I, then, despise the day of small things, or forget 
what God may be pleased to remember ? And if I look 
but a little further to the end of my life, which is per- 
haps nearer than I think of, what a flood of glory waits 
to replenish my enlarged soul, when sin and imperfec- 
tion shall be put off, and perfection put on ? Should not 
such a happy change, secured to me by the faithfulness 
of him who cannot lie, but who rests in his love, cause 
a continual joy in my soul ? I daily see sinners, whose 
life is one scene of joviality, one round of mirth, and 
yet they know not on what account they are so cheerful ; 



MISCELLANEOUS MED1TATI 103 

and why should I be sad, who have the truest cause of 
purest joy ? Neither should the outward troubles of 
time disquiet me, more than a king riding in his eoach 
of state, attended with his guards, should take it ill 
that dust should fly round him, or a gentle shower fall 
on him, when screened from both ; so I am safe in the 
promise ; yea, I ride in the chariot of my Beloved with 
greater security, and statelier port, than crowned heads 
could ever boast of. 

Hasten your flight, ye envious days, that I may see 
him whom I iove, for whom I long, on whom I have fix- 
ed my affection, and with whom my soul dwells by 
faith. Now will I joy in thee with a joy superior to 
theirs that divide the spoil ; and wait for the day when 
I shall be allowed to bring to the throne of thy glory, 
the tribute of praise for ali thy mercies t# me, and 
among the rest for this true substantial joy. 



MEDITATION L. 

ONE FRUIT OF AFFLICTION. 

Sfiithecd, July 14, 1758. 

The world complains of affliction as the worst thing 
that can befal a man, but for my part I never shalL 
Were it as bad as we apprehend, how is it that from 
Adam to this very day, the saints have had so large a 
share of it I Now, among the many precious fruits of 
affliction, I. shall only name one, and that is, earnest- 
ness and importunity with God in prayer. A gracious 
soul may walk with God in close communion, as Enoch, 
captivated with the glory of his countenance, and lifted 
above the world by the outlettings of his love ; but as 
this is not the ordinary attainment of the samts in gene- 
ral, it is their mercy to be driven near the throne, and 
made earnest in their prayers. A good man may walk 
in the course of religious duties, but affliction gives 
ed^e to his devotions, importunity to his petitions, 
makes him draw nearer to the throne, stay longer, and 
cry louder. 

Of this we have examples in the practice of scrip- 
lure-sa'nts. See how Lot, when Sodom is in il 
behind him : his wailing wife and weeping d 



104 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; CK, 

hanging round him ; desolate mountains before him> 
whither he is commanded to escape ; terror without, 
and trembling within : see, I say, how he doubles his 
request, " It is a little one, O let me escape hither ! is 
it not a litle one ?" See another example in the case of 
Jacob, who was not long escaped out of Laban's hand, 
till he is informed of another and more furious foe come 
out against him to cut him wholly off. Immediately he 
pleads the promise which God had made to him, of do- 
ing him good, and also bidding him return unto his na- 
tive land, yet confessing he was less than the least of 
all his mercies: Then he makes the most prudent dis- 
position for melancholy consequences that he can think 
on, and sets them all over the brook j but he lodges 
alone that night, and when alone expresses all his grief, 
pours out his soul to God : i Didst not thou promise 
that in my seed all nations should be blessed, and from 
my loins the promised Messiah spring ? and that my 
seed should be numerous as the stars, innumerable as 
the sand? But where is the accomplishment of the 
promise, the veracity of the promiser, if I and all my 
seed are slain ?' This, no doubt, was the subject of his 
prayer, and the theme he insisted on in the wrestling- 
night ; and, io ! the very saviour, about whose kingdom 
in the world he was so concerned, appears to him in 
the very same likeness which he should afterwards as- 
sume, and allows himself to be wrestled with, in weep- 
ing, prayers and supplication, and to be over come by 
the all-prevalent strugglings of omnipotent faith, till 
this surprising language drops between them, " Let 
me go," " I will not let thee go except thou bless me ;" 
which was granted, and confirmed by a change of his 
name from Jacob to Israel. Sure, then, never was a 
sweeter night on earth ; and can it be doubted but that 
was a singular fruit of a singular affliction! Here we 
must also admire the earnestness of Moses in prayer 
with God, in the time of Israel's calamity, through sin: 
" And now, O Lord, let the power of my Lord be great ; 
pardon, I beseech thee, the sin of this people " — Of 
Joshua, when Israel was smitten before their enemies : 
" What wilt thou do to thy great name ?" — Of David, 
under his various persecutions — ^and of Hezekiah, whe# 
he received the railing letter from the Assyrian moiv 
arch. 



n 

MISCELLANEOUS MEBITATI0N6. 10$ 

Not to mention any mere in the Old Testament, I 
shall name one in the new : Peter is apprehended by 
Herod, put in prison, and the day set that he should 
suffer ; this was a great affliction to the church, one of 
her prime pillars, one of her apostles, so near a shame- 
ful cruel death ; but prayer is made of the church unto 
God without ceasing, and the issue is Peter's deliver- 
ance in a miraculous manner. O ! how, when pressed 
upon by affliction, do we press upon the promise, plead 
for the performance, and are importunate with God I 
As an affectionate parent keeps back from his child 
what he knows to be needful for him, that he may be 
delighted with its little pretty arguments to obtain it, 
so deals God with his people. 

Then, rather than that I should grow remiss in my 
supplications at the throne of grace, through the lan- 
guor of my love, may the weight of my afflictions add 
fervour to my devotions, and eagerness to my requests. 



MEDITATION LI. 

FROM THE DEPTHS OF AFFLICTIONS WE SEE STUPEN- 
DOUS THINGS. 

Sfiithead, July 17, 1758. 
Will any man think the philosopher mad for going 
into a profound pit, that there he may see to more ad- 
vantage the furniture of the higher heavens, the glory 
of the sparkling stars ? Seeing that meaner objects be- 
ing hindered to strike his eye, nothing but what is high, 
luminous, and bright, beam into the bottom of the dark 
abode. Even so the saints, when shut up in the deeps 
of afflictions, a when set in dark places as the dead, 
when hedged about that they cannot get out," have their 
eyes on God alone, who can bring them out of the hor- 
rible pit, out of the miry clay. Then their thoughts as- 
cend to heaven, and heaven shines down into their souls ; 
while the world, in all its glittering vanities that strike 
the carnal eye, is cut off* on every side. A communi- 
cation is opened between God and the soul : " To this 
man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a con- 
trite spirit, " a spirit broken with affliction ; yea, with 
such he will dwell, to revive the hearts of the contrite 
one3. 






106 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

_ Again, in the dark night of adversity, there are beau- 
tie^ seen, that were never seen in the broad day of pros- 
perity. Manasseh, all the time he reigned in Judah 
though it was a land of light, never knew God till he 
was taken among the thorns, bound in fetters, and carri- 
ed to Babylon, where he prayed, was heard, pardoned, 
vvid liberated ; and « then Manasseh knew that the 
Lord, he was God." Thus, in the depths of affliction, 
he learned maxims more sublime, and of higher mo- 
ment, than he could attain to when seated on a throne. 
O desirable distress ! that discloses and magnifies hea- 
venly excellences, and diminishes earthly vanities ! 

When much of the world £ets into the mind, then 
little of God is there ; for " if any man love the world, 
the love of the Father is not in him ;" but when little 
of the world, then much of God. Affliction is also a 
time of solitude, for the man sitteth alone ; but God 
setteth the solitary in a family, even in the family of hea- 
ven, and comforts him with his own children. In no 
place belter than in the profound depth of affliction, 
does the heir of future glory see the love, the good- 
ness, the mercy, and the wisdom of God ; the excel- 
lency of religion, the beauty of divine things, the dan- 
ger of prosperity, the deceitfulness of riches, the vanity 
of created things, and ihe happiness of the world to come. 
But as to the illiterate man who knows nothing of as- 
tronomy, or the laws of the celestial bodies, this pit 
would be a deplorable situation, for it is only the phi- 
losopher that can improve here ; so it is only the spirit- 
ual mind, the heavenly meditant, that reaps the advan- 
tage of such a situation, for the carnal man here would 
be altogether miserable. 

Again, as no man would pity the philosopher for be- 
ing deprived awhile of beauteous day, while pursuing 
his studies, and perfecting his knowledge ; so why 
should the saints be accounted cast off, when plunged 
into affliction for a while, to pursue their studies of the 
wondrous way of Providence, and perfect their knowl- 
edge of the Most High? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 107 

MEDITATION LIL 

PRAYER. 

Sfiithead, July 28, 1758. 

No sooner is the child born, than he breathes ; no 
sooner is Paul converted, than, behold ! he prays. 

O incomparable privilege ! to be allowed to pour our 
complaints into the ear of God, cast our cares over on 
him, plead the performance of the promise, and devolve 
the burden of our sorrows and necessities over on his 
sympathy and all-sufficiency ! The prayer of faith has 
won more numerous and more noble victories than all 
the mighty conquerors since war was taught among the 
nations. Prayer is the furbishing of all the other pieces 
of the spiritual armor, and as it were the muster-mas- 
ter of all the graces. It is the key of heaven ; Elijah 
prayed, and it was locked ; again he prayed, and it was 
opened. It is the terror of hell, which will put up with 
any thing but prayer ; — the ambassador of the renewed 
soul, — the trumpet of failh, — the support of the weak,— 
the employ of the expectant of glory, — and the daily 
exercise of the Christian. It is like a pulley that draws 
the soul up to heaven ; and, like a golden pipe, plung- 
es into that river that proceeds out of the throne of God 
and of the Lamb, and conveys the blessing down into 
the soul below. When Job prayed, Gocl turned his 
captivity ; when Jacob wrestled in prayer, be obtained 
the blessing ; when Elijah and Solomon prayed, the fire 
fell and consumed the sacrifice ; when Paul and Barna- 
bas prayed and sang praises, the prison was shakeiv, 
the doors opened, and every one's bands loosed ; and 
while the church prayed for Peter, an angel set him at 
liberty, By all which it appears, that God will be in- 
quired after by prayer, and will work wonders for the 
humble supplicants. 

This is the time that God will talk with men in a spe- 
cial manner ; — the audience-hour of the great King, 
when the court of Heaven receives and answers the pe- 
titions of the saints. And many times have the souls 
of God's people been enlarged beyond measure, while 
they have, Jacob-like, been wrestling for the blessing, 
weeping and making supplication to God. Then Hea- 
ven has been pleased to pour in his joys in the soul, so 



.08 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OH, 

fully, that they hardly could contain ; their old bottles 
being like to burst asunder with the new wine of God. 

Flowery expressions, and a fine style ; a multitude 
of words, and many petitions ; or any thing that may 
seem the wisdom of man more than the power of God,— 
is not the prayer that shall be heard by Him, who re- 
gards one earnest wish, and sincere request, before all 
the oratory of the schools. We should search ourselves 
before prayer, and know what sin is least subdued, what 
duty is most neglected, what grace is most decayed) 
that we may pray with understanding. Again, we should 
summon our attention in the time of prayer, that we 
2nay speak as to God , and we should look to God after 
prayer for an answer, and wait on him who is both able 
and willing to supply all our need, spiritual or tempor- 
al, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 



MEDITATION LIII. 

LITTLE KNOWN OF THE BLISS ABOVE. 

Off Cherbourg, Aug. 11, 1758. 
I verily believe the saints here are like a stranger 
come from the skirts of the kingdom to the chief city, 
who never saw any thing grand or noble all his life till 
he came thither. When he comes to the palace of the 
king, he is astonished to see the stately buildings, royal 
guards, grand attendance, delightful walks, fragrant 
arbors, the palace-garden, and the noble personages 
that are admitted in. While gazing with wonder at the 
external appearance, he is filled with surprize to think 
what must be within : Rooms hung with arras, furniture 
gilt with gold, the throne, the crown, the sceptre, and 
the robes of state, and all the royal inhabitants. Even 
so the saints, who are charmed with the beauties of the 
church below, which is the house of the living God, 
wonder what the p dace of the great King must be. For 
if the ordinances of his grace be pleasant beyond com- 
parison, what must the eternal os^erflowings of his love 
be in the land of his glory ? If the exceeding great and 
precious promises, and the scriptures of truth, be bet- 
ter than thousands of gold and silver, what must the 
fuiklmentof the one, and the subject of the other, be 



1 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 109 



m the world above ? How may we, when we see the 
outwalks of our God, the goings of our King in the 
sanctuary, wonder what the chamber of presence must 
be above I 

Happy, ye that stand before him, and see him on his 
throne, even face to face, not as we do, who only get a 
window-glimpse, and through the dimming glass. What 
must the invisible glory of the highest heaven be, when 
such beauty beams in the created firmament ! What 
must that glory be that supplies the absence of the sun ! 
What must that beatific vision be which changes the 
soul at its first entrance into it ! What must those plea- 
sures be that ravish every moment ! and those delights 
which surfeit not, even while eternally enjoyed ! 

Surely that divine bliss is too sublime for nature's 
light to know about, or see into ; and revelation can tell 
but a little of it, because of our carnality, and shallow 
knowledge of sacred things. Yea, should the happiness 
of the blessed be described in the language used before 
the throne, it would be too sublime to enter into a mor- 
tal ear. So that it still holds true, that ear hath not 
heard, eye hath not seen, neither hath it entered into 
the heart of man to conceive, what God hath laid up for 
his saints. But such a portion is it, that the very faith 
of it makes them endure hardships, patient under trou- 
ble, silent in affliction, joyful in tribulation ; to tram- 
ple on worldly greatness, riches, honour, and renown, 
and to endure all things, as seeing him who is invisible^ 
and thus to wait for his Son from heaven. 



MEDITATION LIV. 

THE DIVINE LOVER. 

In harbour, Nov. 1, 1758. 
How many great geniuses have employed their noble 
talents on subjects of human love ! And by their flowe- 
ry expressions, screw up the imaginary bliss in these 
luscious scenes to such a height, as if nothing more 
sublime could be pursued by immortal souls ! And how 
easy such trifling subjects gain on carnal minds, mourn- 
ful experience may convince us, But where is he that 
dwells on the Divine Lover, and exnatiates on his 



HO SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

matchless grace, with strokes that melt the soul into 
astonishment and rapture ? How often does the poet, in 
his encomium of a created fair, step beyond the truth, 
talk at random, yea, rove above possibility itself ! But 
here, in the love of the Son of God, we can never ex- 
ceed. It is higher than heaven, and brought him down 
from his Father's bosom to our earth : It is deeper than 
hell, and brought us up from thence : It is larger than 
the sea, and can never be exhausted : Broader than 
the earth, and can never be described. How vehe- 
mently did the heavenly flame burn, even " when the 
sorrows of death compassed him about, when the pains 
of hell took hold on him I" 

How has art and oratory embellished human loves ! 
What surprising narratives have been written of the 
amours of princes ! and what pages have been filled 
with the fictitious adventures of lovers! But what has 
been said to purpose of the Supreme Lover, who loved 
his own to the end, in the hour of death, in the pangs 
of dissolution, and amidst the keenest sense of his Al- 
mighty Father's wrath ! This is what no mortal ever 
could do ; for death flings another cheme into their mind, 
and as their breath expires, their thoughts perish. 
Death is the person loving or beloved, finishes the 
strongest affection, though their memory may be dear ; 
but death cannot separate from his sacred love. 

There never was such disproportion between parties 
loving and beloved, as here ; no, not though kings 
should choose their queens from the dunghill. Here 
the Prince of peace, the King of kings, the flower of 
paradise, the darling of his Father's love, the express 
image of his person, and brightness of his glory, the 
heir of all things, the eternal God, loves an ugly, de- 
formed, miserable creature, a crawling worm, a con- 
demned criminal, an insolvent debtor, a rebel against 
heaven, a daring sinner, a drudge to hell, a slave to 
lust, a captive of Satan, a prisoner of tfie pit I This is 
love indeed, love that will be the wonder of angels, and 
the song of the church of the first born through endless 
ages. 

For shame, ye celebrated bards ! will ye choose such 
lifeless, tasteless, dying themes, and neglect the work 
of angels, the employment of heaven ? How ardently. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. Ill 

O Divine lover 1 should my §pul go out after thee 1 
Longing for that thrice- welcome clay, when I shall 
mourn thine absence no more, but, admitted into thy 
presence, shall talk of all thy love, and feast on all thy 
charms, world without end. 



MEDITATION LV. 

ETERNITY. 

Sfiithead, JV6v. 13, 1758. 

Arithmeticians have been much puzzled with giv- 
en numbers ; bui none ever attempted eternity, or the 
duration of the world to come, though they have show r n 
mighty art in figures. Here the finite mind has no idea 
of eternity but by succession of ages, and yet succes- 
sion belongs to time, not to eternity. Though all the 
angels in heaven, and all the men in the world, since 
their creation, hud been employed in dotting down fig- 
ures, which at the end of the world were arranged into 
one straight line, stretching through an unmeasured 
space, which would give every figure ten times its force, 
yet this line would not be so much to eternity, by all the 
disproportion of comparison, as the number one bears 
to it ; for one bears some proportion to the greatest num.^ 
bers, but the greatest numbers bear none to eternity. 

Days, weeks, and months, are nothing there; years, 
ages, and generations are lost there ; hundreds, thou- 
sands, and millions are no more there ; times, seras, 
and determinate durations are past for ever there ; all 
is fixed, all eternal there ! There is no first and last, 
sooner and later, in eternity ; for though Abel, with 
respect to time, was sooner plunged into perpetuity, 
yet no sooner than the saints that shall be alive at the 
last day, with respect to eternity. For it is like a circle, 
which, desected any where, is always in the middle. 
The saints are like so many guests assembling to a feast, 
some are set down, some sitting down, some standing 
ready to sit down, some entering the door, and some 
at a little distance from the house, yet all come in due 
time for the feast. Adam, Enoch, and Elias, are set 
down at the banquet of love; the prophets and apos- 
tles are set down at the marriage supper of the Lamb ; 



112 solitude sweetened; or, 

some are entering the door of bliss, and many are on 
their way thither ; but they shall all come time enough 
to the divine entertainment which shall satisfy ail the 
guests in the mansions of glory. 

Alas ! with what desperate madness am I chargeable, 
that am thus taken up with transitory trifles, and neg- 
lect the realities of the everlasting world 1 When I 
consider the vanity of earthly glory, I cannot help con- 
cluding, that such as pursue after it are intoxicated 
with poison more dangerous than that of the tarantula, 
which makes men die by dancing ; as the one effects 
the sguI, the other only the body. But though the 
pleasures of this world were real and solid, yet they are 
fco transient, that they are not worthy our pursuit. O 
haw wise for time, but how improvident for eternity ! 
for what man, to appear in all the majesty and gran- 
deur of a king for one day, would forfeit his estate, and 
spend the rest of his miserable life in poverty and re- 
proach ? And yet for vanity, for trifles of a day, we 
throw ourselves away for eieruHy i 1 look forward a 
few years, perhaps a few days, and see myself in eter- 
nity : but 1 cannot look still more forward, and see my- 
self out of eternity into another state. O eternity i I 
am to be in thee forever ; and why shouldst thou not be 
in all my thoughts ? Thou shall shortly overtake me ; 
why then should I chase thee from me, or fly myself 
from thee ? 

It matters not much to him who is going but out of 
one door into another, whether it be in a summer-blink, 
or winter-blast, since a few steps finish his journey ; 
nor does it much more concern him who comes out of 
the door of the womb, and enters by the gate of death 
into the palace of the great King, his mansion for eter- 
nity, whether it be under the sun-shine oi^ prosperity, 
or the bitter blast of adversity ; because the one can- 
not profit him, nor the other puin him there. And our 
journey, from our coming into this world, till our go- 
ing into the world of spirits, though we should reach 
the age of Methuselah, is performed sooner with re- 
spect to eternity, than our going from one room to an- 
other in respect of time. Now, my moments are num- 
bered, and precious ; but, O that blessed state when 
numbers are no more 1 No incursions there on the ador- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS, 113 

ing soul, from the world, or from vanity, from sin, Sa- 
tan, or the flesh. No weariness there, where mine ad- 
orations shall not be measured by minutes, cramped by 
corruption, or cut short by bodily indisposition. But* 
when I hare stood an ardent adorer before the throne ten 
thousand years, I shall be as vigorous in my love, as 
active in my adorations, as in the first moment I began 
the work of angels, the employment of heaven. Now 
vain thoughts mingle with my contemplations, distrac- 
tions with my devotions, impertinent rovings with my 
most importunate prayers ; unbelief resists my faith, 
carnality is a clog to the heavenly mind, corruption a 
dead weight on the soul, and the things of time an hin- 
drance to all. But then I shall be delivered into the 
glorious liberty of the sons of God. Once a great king 
made a great feast to his grandees for an hundred and 
fourscore days ; nothing less than a royal treasury could 
support the expence of &uch an entertainment. But 
the King of kings shall feast and satiate all his mighty 
angels, all his chosen people, on his own undiminished 
fulness through eternity itself ! There is bliss without 
a blank, abundance beyond all bounds, and possession 
without period! No matter, then, what years I lose ;-. 
for whenever the lamp of life expires, the sun shall 
rise and-shine for ever. 



MEDITATION LVL 

ON LOVING GOD*. 

Sfiithcadj Nov. 20, 1758. 
To love thee, is my honour ; that I may, is my privi- 
lege ; and in as far as I do it, so far am I happy. How 
is it, then, that this divine duty of loving thee meets 
with so much opposition ? Hell and earth bid me hate 
thee ; sinners will not let me avow my love to thee ; cor- 
ruption within, cares and concerns without, check my 
love ; unbelief cools my love, " for faith works by love," 
and love bears proportion to faith ; immoderate fear, 
and love of any thing besides thee, is a clog to my love ;, 
and imperfect apprehensions of thy glorious self, dead- 
en my love to thee. In what a melancholy ease am 1 1 
It is death to live, and not to love ; yet I live, and can- 
K 2 



H4 SOLITUDE sweetened; or, 

not love thee ! I can love my friend, and hate mine ene- 
my ; but I cannot love my God, nor hate mine enmity. 
I can love what I think beautiful in the creature with 
love more than meet ; why then not love the Rose of 
heaven, the chiefest among ten thousand, who is alto- 
gether lovely, and whose love is, like himself, un- 
changeable ! What makes the triumphant state so glo- 
rious, so desirable, but because love is perfect without 
fear, their adorations without distractions, their con- 
ceptions bright without misapprehensions, and their 
praise without interruption, their knowledge clear 
without confusion, their vision perfect, their view fix- 
ed, and all their souls strengthened in God, replenish- 
ed with God, and going out on God. Then, in loving 
thee, I might begin the felicity of eternity, and antici- 
pate the bliss above. I will love thee for thyself, and 
thy saints for thy sake, for thy image shining in them. 
I will hate mine enmity against thee, grieve that I can- 
not love thee, and feel after thee, and wait for that day 
when I shall love thee as I would, because I shall see 
and enjoy thee as thou art. 



MEDITATION LVIL 

WRATH. 

Sfiit/iead, Nov 21, 1753. 
I have hitherto had faint views of divine wrath, 
hough I have indeed had frightful apprehensions of 
fire, a gloomy idea of the bottomless pit, and shocking 
thoughts of the state of the damned. But, there is one 
expression of our Saviour's, which gives me a clearer 
view of divine vengeance, than all the anguish of the 
damned can do. Observe the God-man, in. whose mouth 
no guile was found, in whose face no personal guilt 
could stare, when suffering in our stead, carrying our 
sorrows, and bearing our grief. Although he knew he 
should triumph, and come off victorious, that he should 
see of the travail of his own soul, and be satisfied ; and 
that, though he laid down his life, he should take it up 
again ; yet see, when the flood-gates of divine ven- 
geance are opening, (the overflowings of whose waters 
were to thy very soul, O immanuel !) and pouring out 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. fc|5 

on him, how his soul, that is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death, suffers in such a manner, that the blood, in- 
stead of keeping its wonted course, and flowing to sup- 
port his heart as if the frame of his holy human nature 
had been dissolving, breaks through the returning veins, 
forces a passage at every pore, and in great drops trick- 
les down upon the ground I while he puts up a petition 
which I should never foi get, u Father, if it be possible, 
let this cup pass from me i" Which is as if he had said, 
" Couldst thou be glorified, jus:ice satisfied, and the 
elect saved, any other way than by my drinking this tre- 
mendous cup, O let it be done I yet not my will, but 
thine be done.' Now, if thus the Son of God in our na- 
ture expressed himself under a sense of wrath, how 
dreadful, terrible, and intolerable must it be 1 What 
are streams or melted brimstone, floods of lire, utter 
darkness, the worm that never dies, the horrid guiph, 
the bottomless pit, the tormenting company of fiends 
and devils, but as it were vehicles to convey wrath into 
the damned I for the wrath of the Almighty, of which 
the wicked must drink for ever, is something above and 
beyond all these ! " Who knows the power of thy 
wrath l" " Who can stand if thou be angry V- 9 How 
must guilt scream, when innocence itself cries out so 1 
How must despair roar, when he that was heard in that 
he feared, expresses himself in such a manner ! 

Three things may remain my wonder, the compassion 
of the Father, the condescension of the Son, and the 
insensibility of the sinner. O, then, to be wise before: 
instructed in the world, of flumes I 



MEDITATION LVIIk 

SENSIBLE COMMUNION WITH GOD SOMETIMES EN- 
JOYED., 

Under sail, JJec, 27, 175$. 
Though there it> not a child in the family of heavea 
but what has real fellowship with the Father, and with 
his Son Jesus Christ, yet there are happy times and 
pleasant moments, when a divine intercourse is carried 
on between the soul and God. A carnal world ridicules- 
the idea ; and no wonder, for the " natural man receiv- 



116 SOLITUDE SWEETENED", OR, 

cth not the things of the Spirit of God, because they 
are foolishness to him." 

Will not the saints of God confess, that communion 
with him is sometimes sensibly enjoyed ; and that the 
enjoyment of it is a little heaven, glory in the bud, and 
a foretaste of their future felicity ? Nor is this the ef- 
fect o£ fancy, or an heated imagination ; it proceeds 
from a nobler cause, even the sovereign kindness of the 
Father of mercies. Have not the souls of his people, 
(Oh that I could say, mine own !) been sometimes so re- 
freshed with more than ordinary outlettings of his love, 
that they have longed for the eternal uninterrupted vi- 
sion and enjoyment of himself ? And when heaven has 
opened before them to let them look in, and see the glo- 
ries of the better country, how have they trampled on 
the pleasures, and triumphed over the troubles of a pre- 
sent life ! 

At three remarkable seasons God is pleased to hold 
communion with his people. First, Before affliction, to 
prepare them for it ; as with Jacob in that memorable 
night when his angry brother was marching against 
him ; — and with Paul, who was bid to be of good cheer, 
for as he had testified at Jerusalem, so he should at 
Rome. Again, in the time of affliction, to support 
them under it; as when Moses was mourning and go- 
ing heavily under Israel's grievous idolatry, then God 
spake face to face with him, as a man speaketh unto his 
friend ; and he made his goodness to pass before him : 
So Stephen's face, from heart-felt joy, shone like an an- 
gel's, amidst his foes, and near his death. And, third- 
ly, after some afflictive dispensations, and mournful 
providences: So the apostles, after they had been ap- 
prehended, examined, and severely threatened, are fil- 
led in an eminent manner with the Hoiy Ghost, while 
the place of their abode, as a symbol of the divine pre- 
sence, is remarkably shaken. 

Though all his saints are fed at his expense, yet some- 
times they are allowed to sit in his presence, and feast 
with the King. And such a banquet makes the barren 
desert like the garden of God. It is only in the strength 
of heavenly meals, bes owed by the uncreated Angel, 
that I travel o the itioum of God. Now, manifestations 
and communications do not entitle me to bliss, but are 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 2 17 

themselves a part of my bliss ; therefore I must not 
build upon them, but seek my standing in the right- 
eousness of the Son of God : Even as a servant's being- 
allowed provision will not prove him to be a son, yet 
the son abiding in the family of election and house of 
God, is always entitled to be fed, and is sometimes ad- 
mitted to his Father's own table. If. then, Heaven is 
pleased, according to his divine sovereignty, to display 
his glory at times, in a more than ordinary effulgence, 
why should it be called enthusiasm and delusion ? For 
my part, whoever be the sober wits, let me live and die 
in such delusion. But if thus the life of the least saint 
be like the life of an angel, in comparison of the hap- 
piest worldlings ; and if the life of one saint so excel 
another's in walking near God, (for it is thus that in the 
firmament of grace one star differeth from another star 
in glory ;) and if the life of a saint sometimes, for a 
few moments, in comparison of his ordinary attain- 
ments, be tike the life of a seraph, what must eternal, 
uninterrupted, full, and free communion be, in the 
highest heavens, where the new bottles will be able to 
lioid the new wine of paradise ; and where the soul, ca- 
pacitated in every power, snail be replenished with all 
the fulness of God? 

Expire, ye protracted periods, and roll off, ye envious 
years, that I may join the adorers round the throne, and 
commence comnmnion with the Highest in the holy 
place for the endless ages of eternity I 



MEDITATION LIX. 

BREVITY OF LIFE. 

Plymouth, Dec. 28, 1758. 
What is all this struggle in the world for ? What 
mean 1 by so many attempts to be something in the 
sphere of nothing ? This is as if foam and bubbles 
should contend for station on the rapid stream, which 
in a moment are no more. Now we are engaged and 
entangled in a war, and this is the time for the patriot, 
the politician, and the hero to appear ; but how many 
press forward to make their appearance for the sake of 
being seen I as if tjonor could bring happiness, This I 



118 SOLITUDE SWEETMED ; OR, 

see aud condemn In others, yet am guilty of it myself, 
forgetting that I am but of yesterday, and to-morrow 
am no more. It is a shame to think so much about a 
few days, £nd so little of endless ages. Let me look to 
the generations past ; then were patriots, politicians, 
and heroes, and some of them the favorites of fame ; 
now that generation is gone, this is going ; that has pre-* 
ceded this by one step, and this by another step shall 
follow that. How few of our deceased acquaintance are 
so much as remembered ! and how soon, like them, 
shall we also be forgotten ! Many prime servants of the 
crown are this clay sleeping in perpetual silence, and 
their names possess almost the same repose in some an- 
tiquated registers, that are cleared away to make room 
for the present, as the present in a little shall be to 
make room for the future. Perhaps the names of a few, 
signalized by an uncommon fame, may yet tingle in our 
ears; but whatis this to them who are fixed in their fi- 
nal state ? Could it mitigate their misery, who have 
begun their everlasting bowlings, that the whole world 
were ringing with their praises ; or, could it add to 
their joy, who have begun their endless hallelujahs, 
that every tongue were employed in panegyrics to their 
memory ; well might we be pardoned in our pursuit of 
fame. 

How frail is our life ! a pile of grass, a withered leaf, 
dry stubble, a fiower, a breath, brittle clay, fading flesh : 
How swift ! a weaver's shuttle, an eagle, a ship, a wind 
that passeth away, and cometh not again : How short ! 
a moment, a breathing. — While I bewail a departed 
friend, death, suddenly seizing me, translates the la- 
mentation to another tongue that is most nearly concern- 
ed in me, who also in a little time must follow me into 
the siient grave, and leave the protracted elegy to be 
continued by their nearest relations. Thus mourning 
is continued, though the mourners are hurried away in 
a moment. Surely I need not be so anxious about a 
life so short, a state so uncertain, and a world so vain ; 
where I am only a stranger, a pilgrim, a sojourner, and 
posting away from every thing below. Let the world, 
then, go with me as it will, this shall not trouble me, 
who am daily going through the world, and shall in a 
little go entirely out of the worid, to return no more> 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 119 

How, then, shall I spend this short life, my few winged 
moments, which are all numbered to me ? Surely, in 
nothing- better, than in looking out, and laying up for 
etevnity. 



MEDITATION LX. . 

ON THE LAST DAY OF A YEAR. 

Plymouth, Dec. 31, 1758. 

Time is measured, and is alike at both ends; it be- 
gan with a day, and will end with a day ; hence the 
evening and the morning were said to be the first day^ 
as the general judgment is called the last day. Eterni- 
ty is the fountain from which it sprang, and the flood in- 
to which it shall fall. The most lasting duration of time 
is but short, and its greatest prolongations come to a 
period. A given moment is scarce known till it is no 
more, a few of which make a minute, which we but 
begin to enjoy when it is also gone ; thus an hour flies 
away, a day hastes to its end, and a year, (as this has 
done,) comes to its last day. As, therefore, at the end 
of the year trading people cast up their accounts, and 
regulate their books, let me ask myself, What have my 
talents gained these twelve months ? for, whatever I 
may think, time itself is none of the least of talents, 
and another year is added to my account. 

Thousands who came into the world after me, are cal- 
led into eternity before me ; and is not this a loud call 
to me to improve every moment of my time ? Time is 
only little thought of by those who think still less of 
eternity ; but if I look into a future world, I will see 
of how great moment every moment of my time is, who 
therein must prepare for this everlasting fixed state. 
O precious, mispent time, which I never can recall I 
Now this year is gone, and never shall return ; what, 
then, have I done for the giory of God therein ? Ah ! 
it is passed away from me as a void, though on this side 
it sparkles thick with mercies, like the starry firma- 
ment. Ah I did I say a void ? nay, worse ; for while 
his iove and goodness shone around me like the noon- 
day beam, my sins rose numerous, like the atoms of 
the sun ! 



i^O SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

This is the last day of this year ; and how would I 
value every moment of it, did I think it the last day of 
my life ? Yet nothing but presumption flatters me with 
another thought. I should count every day my last, 
since some have found their last on days they as little 
dreaded as I do this; and at most, some day soon will 
be my last, w;hen perhaps this same pernicious expec- 
tation will not be dispelled my breast. Then it is wis- 
dom to be beforehand with death ; rather to wonder that 
he stays away so long, than be surprised he should come 
so soon ; rather triumphantly to expect him, than be 
terrified at his approach. Thus I should look on every 
day as my last, that when my last day comes, it may not 
come unlooked for, nor overtake me unprepared. 

But, alas ! this year has afforded me more mournful 
spectacles of sin than all my life beside. I have heard 
the divine name blasphemed ; seen sin in high place ; 
the hoiy Sabbath, like Job's birth-day, disjoined from 
the days of the year, and shut out from the number of 
the months ; and all manner of wickedness committed 
thereon, drinking, sporting, singing, buying, selling 
every kind of merchandise thereon. O for what tri- 
fling gain will men cast away their precious souls ! and 
how can I, unconcerned, look on sin in all its ugly- 
shapes, and the dreadful havock it makes among im- 
mortal souls ! 

But may the divine providence bring me from these 
chilling objects, and may I through grace never forget 
what I have heard and seen ! Here also patience, wor- 
thy of God, is conspicuous ; for, when we think how 
much wickedness is committed ail over the Christian, 
as well as the heathen world, — in Protestant as well as 
Roman-Catholic countries, — in public and private, — by- 
great and small, — on land and sea ; and again, that this 
rebellion against Heaven was not begun yesterday, but 
carried on since Adam's fail, for more than five thousand 
years ; it is a wonder the world has not long ago been 
devoted to the flames. But that patience, which for 
continuance is amazing, shall at last give place to jus- 
tice, which in the execution will be terrible. Might 
my life end, like this year, on a Sabbath, I could be 
content; but this may comfort me, that upon whatever 
day I may depart this life, I shall enter into heaven on 
an high Sabbath-day, for Sabbath is eternal there. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 121 

But while I am meditating on my fleeting time, the 
midnight hour strikes, and I am already in another 
year. Then adieu for ever, 1758. Yet let me remem- 
ber, that by this adieu I look on my life as drawing to 
its latter end, and that I am advanced another stage 
nearer eternity, ignorant if a day, or a month, or a year* 
or two, or more, shall be bestowed on me. 



MEDITATION LXI. 

SAINTS HAVE THE GREATEST REASON TO REJOICE. 

Plymouth^ Jan. 7, 1759. 

No wonder that Paul doubles his admonition to the 
converted Philippians, " Rejoice in the Lord always, 
and again I say rejoice ;" for nothing better becomes 
the saints than spiritual joy, though none are greater 
strangers to what they have so good a title, than they. 
The joy of the sinner and the laughter of the fool are 
alike, just as the crackling of thorns under a pot, noth- 
ing but a noise, and quickly gone ; but it is not so with 
the Saints, for there is more joy even in their peniten- 
tial groans, more consolation in their mourning, than 
in all the gladness of the carnal world. What should 
make the children of a King sad, the sons of such a 
Sovereign, as he, who is " the King eternal, invisible, 
immortal, dwelling in light inaccessible, and full of 
glory;" who alone hath immortality essentially, and in 
the light of whose countenance saints commence their 
journey here towards his more immediate presence, 
and shall hereafter hold on their journey towards his 
adorable perfections for ever. 

If my hope can lay hold on thee, if my faith can fas- 
ten here, I ought certainly to be filled with more joy 
than I have in believing; and, from this divine relation 
to him who is the Lord of the whole creation, should be 
possessed of a joy that shall be more than match for ali 
sublunary sorrow. Indwelling sin, prevailing tempta- 
tion, and tempestuous corruption only claim perpetual 
sorrow, and unceasing lamentation ; yet, with the great 
apostle, while with one breath 1 cry, " O wretched man 
that I am i who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death:" I mav in another breath sav, in view of the- 
L 



122 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

sure and sweet deliverance that shall come, " I thank 
God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Does it become those to be sad, who are possessed of 
all things ? And, O saints ! " all things are your's, and 
ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Is it seemly for 
those to weep, at whose conversion angels joy, and on 
whose account heaven and earth are in harmony ? 
" Truth springs from earth, and righteousness looketh 
down from heaven." Is it like one of royal blood to 
bewail the loss of a pebble, when he has z*. crown set 
with diamonds, yea, a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away, laid up for him ? Is it congruous for the expect- 
ants of celestial bliss to lament the loss of time-trifles, 
when the treasures of eternity are reserved for them ? 
Is it decent in the conjugal affection of the spiritual 
-spouse, the Lamb's wife, to be inconsolable at the death 
of a carnal relation, when the Husband, who is better 
than any, than all other relatives, is eternally alive ? 
How mean is it in the great soul that is born from above, 
to look dejected because the world looks down upon 
him, when God beholds him with a pleasant counte- 
nance ? How foolish were it for one travelling through 
a strange country to be disquieted because the children 
of every town stare at his foreign dress, or the fools 
laugh at him in his journey ; when he is conscious that 
his king is acquainted with his character, approves his 
journey, and will honor him on his arrival home ? In a 
word, how abject and base for the Christian to complain 
of the whirlwinds scattering his mole-hill of sand ; 
when the spoils of principalities and powers, won by 
the divine Conqueror in that tremendous day when he 
gave his life away, — the mountains of prey, and treas- 
ures of eternity, — shall enrich him for evermore. 

Now I reprove my sorrow, and reprehend my sad- 
ness. I will rejoice in the Rock of my salvation with 
acclamations and shouting ; yea, sometimes I would 
fain emulate the cherubim in their sublimest strains, 
did not the sight of so much dishonour done to the di- 
vine majesty by others always, and by myself too often, 
jriake my joys recoil, and inward sorrow flow. Yet in 
thee will I rejoice, till the day dawn, when I shall en- 
ter into the joy of my Lord, which likewise entering 
into me, shall be mine everlasting strength. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 123 

MEDITATION LXII. 

INDWELLING SIN. 

Plymouth Sound, Jan. 14, 1759. 

There is a mysterious wisdom in the way of God 
with his people, to whom he grants to know but in part, 
and to be renewed but in part. Were they, while here, 
wholly delivered from sin, and had the unclouded vi- 
sion of his face, and full communion with God, there 
would be nothing reserved for the day of glory. It is 
with them, therefore, aa with ancient Israel, among 
whom God wisely left some of the devoted nations un- 
destroyed, even them whose land was divided by prom- 
ise, to excite their faith, and stir up their endeavors to 
extirpate them, and to be a means of preserving them 
from sinning- with security and impunity. 

Now, God has promised to subdue all our sins, and 
so he does, that they shall never condemn us ; but such 
is the corruption of nature, which is sanctified but in 
part, and of creatures who know but in part, that it is 
rare to be holy and humble, to be full of God, and emp- 
ty of ourselves. Even the great apostle Paul, after he 
had been with God, in a special manner, and seen un- 
utterable glories in the highest heavens, instead of hav- 
ing some of the heavenly host as his companions, after 
his kind reception at the celestial court, had a messen- 
ger of Satan sent to buffet him, lest he should be exal- 
ted above measure with the divine vision. A humb- 
ling chanee this ! to come from heaven to combat with 
hell I 

Our very critical situation in this world might keep 
us humble. Corrupt nature, like weeds among flow- 
ers, is ready to spring up with every refreshing shower 
of grace, and sun-blink of manifestation, if not into 
acts of sin, yet into pride, self-conceit, and security. 
When we see things above us, we are ready, through 
the mists of remaining corruption, to forget ourselves, 
and provoke God to show ourselves unto ourselves, 
that we may not be puffed up with ourselves. For to 
the high and lofty One, who delights to dwell with the 
humble, nothing is more abominable than pride, and no 
pride more odious to him than spiritual pride. The 
soldier that is not match for his enemies will always 



124 solitude sweetened; oh, 

keep in the camp, and under protection of his general ; 
so the believer must dwell by faith, if he would be se- 
cure, under the shadow of the Almighty. 

But it is impossible for us to be delivered wholly from 
indwelling sin in this world. For, 

1. This would be turning earth into heaven, grace 
into glory, and time into eternity, before the great day 
of revelation. We must not be crowned with victory 
till we come off the field of battle ; and this we cannot 
leave till our enemies are subdued before us, or we ta- 
ken hence in triumph from them. We are still in the 
dominions of him who is the god of this world, in the 
territories of the prince of the power of the air ; and 
he will always be seeking whom he may devour, till the 
God of peace bruise Satan under our" feet, till the old 
serpent be bound for eternity, and cast into the burning 
lake. 

2. Were there no indwelling sin, no remains of cor- 
ruption in the justified, sanctification could not be pro- 
gressive. But here " the path of the just is like the 
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the per- 
fect day.' 5 

3. Were saints from the first moment of their con* 
version set at liberty from all sin, where were the di- 
vine victories of all-triumphant grace, by which God 
is glorified, and the saints prepared for the better in- 
heritance ? Had not an enemy, and a giant too, defiled 
the armies of Israel, the power and goodness of God 
could not have been displayed, as it was in killing him ; 
so the divinity of grace, in babes of the heavenly fami- 
ly, shines in this, that they are enabled to resist temp- 
tations from the same deceiving serpent that beguiled 
our first parents in the state of innocence ;— that they 
are enabled to wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but 
against principalities and powers, against the rulers of 
the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wick- 
edness in high places. 

4. Were the case so with the saints, the book of life 
were in effect laid open in the eyes of men, who would 
anticipate the judgment which belongs to God alone. 
But indwelling sin, though subdued, is not slain, and 
therefore breaks out in such a manner, even sometimes 
in eminent saints, as gives the enemy occasion to re- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 125 

proach, and also makes them doubt of their own state 
themselves, till God deal again with them after his lov- 
ing-kindness and tender mercies. Now, in the eyes of 
the poor penitent, a compassionate, returning, and for- 
giving God, is dear, beloved, and amiable beyond ex- 
pression, and divine things shine with an additional 
lustre. Thus, even indwelling sin, contrary to its own. 
nature, advances the glory of God 5 and the good of the 
soul 

5. Indwelling sin, or the remains of corruption in the 
greatest saints, makes them sympathize with others. 
They are men, and not angels ; so that they are to re- 
member, not only them that suffer affliction, but them 
that are overtaken with a fault, as being yet in the body* 
Yea, what comfort would it be to poor sinners, if sal- 
vation were preached to them by any other than men of 
like natures, like infirmities, and like passions with 
themselves ? How is our consolation heightened to hear 
them speak from experience, as Paul : " When I would 
do good, evil is present with me ; so the good that I 
would, I do not ; and the evil that I would not, that do 
I ;" in comparison of angelic harangues on the beauty 
and excellency of perfection and innocence ! 

6 Indwelling sin keeps us humble and watchful ; — - 
makes us cleave more closely to Christ, and endeavour 
to make. our calling and election sure ; — excites us to 
work while the day lasts, before the night shall come, 
wherein no man can work 

7. It makes us go entirely out of ourselves into Christ, 
and ascribe the whole of our salvation to free grace. 

8. Thereby we learn the goodness of God in making 
his grace sufficient for us, and his strength perfect in 
weakness. Also, we are filled with wonder at the rich- 
es of his grace, which is glorified to the highest in such 
patience towards offending sons, and his repeated par- 
dons of their daily sins. ' 

Lastly, It makes, at least should make, us long much 
for that day when sin shaU cease, and imperfection be 
swallowed up of permanent likeness to the divine im* 
age ; — when ail our failings shall pass away, while we 
are lost in the overflowings of divine glory, and replen- 
ished with all the fulness of God, fixed in a state tronri 
which wc cannot fall; and satiated with joys that cannot 
surfeit, L 2 



126 solitude sweetened; or, 

MEDITATION LXIII. 

EVENTS OF PROVIDENCE. 

Bee. 1759. 

Unbelief is my worst enemy, and most disturbs my 
mental quiet ; and no wonder it so harrass me, when it 
attacks the very faithfulness of God, and concludes so 
harshly of his unerring providence. Now, my grati- 
tude cannot be silent at this thy so surprising, surpas- 
sing kindness. A few months ago, matters wore a dif- 
ferent aspect,* but I deserved worse ; yet then hope 
would not give up its claim to thy care, faith would not 
-quit with its interest in thy promise, in thy love, and both 
are satisfied with thy goodness. Thou hast bestowed 
the very same mercy, though in another way than I 
sought it.t Then I thought no way like mine, but now 
I find no way like thine ; for as thy thoughts are higher 
than curs, so is thy way better than our way. This fa- 
vour which I sought from thee with submission, let it 
come with thy blessing; not signifying thy displeasure, 
but sealing thy love ; not only filling somewhat my cup, 
but fulfilling thy promise. And as it may moderately 
feed my condition, so let it feast my spiritual part ; and 
not prove like Israel's flesh, that while they thought to 
satisfy their lust, suffocated them outright ; nor like 
their granted request, which was attended with lean- 
ness sent into their soul. 

In the common affairs of life, I cannot look into my- 
self, or sacrifice to my own drag - r I cannot look abauC 
to praise princes, or the sons men ; but I must look ufi y 
and adore thee as only and alone in all. Dare I hence- 
forth sin, who am so many ways hedged about from it ? 
Shall not thy holiness dissuade me from sinning, thy 
power persuade, thy majesty deter, thy mercy over- 
come, thy love allure, and thy kindness bend me to obe- 
dience I 'How shall I praise thee, O thou hearer of 
prayers, and answerer of petitions I Let my lips praise 
thee ; let my life praise thee ; my meditations praise 
thee ; yea, let all my actions praise thee, 

* See Meditaiion XI. 

f He obtained a place in the navy, after being disappointed of 
it in the merchant service. 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 127 

But how shall I behave under thy kindness ? It is 
harder to be the Christian in prosperity than in adversi- 
ty. " When Ephraim spake trembling, in Israel he 
exalted himself;" but when he was exalted in Israel, 
he offended in Baal ; and when " he offended in Baal, 
he died." When God spares, it is that his long-suffer- 
ing may lead us to repentance ; and when he punishes, 
it is that we may return to him ; for it is a heavy 
charge, when he has cause to compiain against those to 
whom he has been a Father. In an afflicted state hu- 
mility best becomes us, because we are laid on thedust, 
and where but there should we be humble ? In an ex- 
alted state we should still be humble, for Heaven can 
dash us from the highest eminence to the lowest condi- 
tion of life. And as an afflicted state is not confirmed 
on us, that we may have hope ; so a prosperous condi- 
tion is not confirmed that we may fear. " Before hon- 
our is humility, and an haughty spirit before a fall m 9 " 
therefore we should always follow the one, and fly the 
other. As humility lifts us out of the lowest condition, 
so it keeps us in the highest. Nor is there any state of 
life but is attended with so many humbling circumstan- 
ces, that no discerning soul has reason to be proud, con- 
sidering that it is more disgrace to fall from an high sta- 
tion into a low, than never to have risen, and conse- 
quently never fall. He that loses prince's favor smarts 
sorer than he that never had it : and those that fall from 
high preferments, or lose their honorary posts, may ex- 
pect to have all eyes upon them, and every tongue to 
dwell on them and their misfortunes. 

Such, then, is our condition below, that we are always 
in danger, from without and from within. — Troubles 
may attack us without, or, if free from these, pride 
may swell within ; and the last is worse, than the first. 
Then, contentment with our present condition, resig- 
nation to God with respect to unseen contingencies, 
hope in his mercy, confidence in his faithfulness, and 
an eye fixed on the world to come, is our only wisdom 
in this world that passeth away* 



128 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

MEDITATION LXIV. 

MORE OF GOD SEEN IN CHRIST THAN IN ALL THE 
CREATION. 

Under sail, Jan. 26, 1759. 

There is a great noise among the wise men of our 
day, how God is to be seen and felt, as it were in his 
handy-works. True, O Lord ! thou art near in every 
thing around me, but nearer in thy Son, In thy hea- 
vens I behold thy wisdom ; but in thine Anointed I see 
thy grace, and share thy love. Thou art near in thy 
sun, moon, and stars, to convince atheists, but nearer 
in thy word of grace, to convert sinners, and comfort 
saints. My reason tells me, that he that formed the eye, 
planted the ear, and put understanding into the heart, 
must see, hear, and understand all things ; but thou art 
seen in more noble and exalted views, in those graces 
which- are infused by thy Holy Spirit into my soul. 
Sense and reason harmonize in this, that God made and 
governs the world ; but faith looks back to that period . 
when time began, and sees that by him he made the 
world, — and forward, when time shall be no more, and 
sees that by him he also shall judge the world. — Thou 
art near to me in the harmony of all my members, so 
that there is no schism in my natural body ; but much 
nearer in the union of my soul to thee, which shall nev- 
er suffer a separation. Thou art to be acknowledged 
In every breathing as the God of my life ; but in a more 
glorious manner, in every act of faith, and heavenly as- 
piration, as the life of my soul. 

Human philosophy cries up nature as the best glass 
to see the glory of God in ; and surely, therein he is 
%'ery glorious, for the heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the sky, preaches his handy-work. But revelation, 
which is the sublimest philosophy, declares the face of 
Jesus to be the brightest mirror in which the glory of 
God can be seen ; for there it appears with a permanent 
and transforming lustre. In the creation of the world, 
his power and wisdom are admired ; but in the re- 
demption of the world, his love and compassion are 
adored. 

Let others please themselves with philosophical views 
of the weli-replenished creation ; but, not despising 



:ellaneous meditations. 129 

these, let me revolve the volume of revelation, peruse 
the divine page, and dwell upon the plan of redeeming 
love, where a glorious Trinity of persons appears in 
the grand work of man's redemption ; — and where all 
the attributes and perfections of God beam forth, with 
a radiance and beauty that cannot pass through the gros- 
' ser creation, but is even too bright for the eyes of ser- 
aphim to nx upon. Here, then, I will begin to study 
for eternity, and learn for the world to come. 



MEDITATION LXV. 

GOD IN CHRIST THE STUDY ABOVE. 

Under sail, Feb. 9, 1759, 
I read with pleasure, O philosophers ! your lectures, 
and commend your care to make the mute creation 
preach the power and wisdom of the Creator: But yet, 

ye learned commentators on the volumes of nature I 

1 shall never agree with you in thinking that this study, 
however useful and engaging here, shall employ the 
saints above. Surely, when carried above the material 
heavens, their search shall no more descend to our re- 
volving spheres. When admitted by the divine inter- 
cessor into the presence of the great Creator himself, 
shall they carry the creature in its various laws to be 
their theme and subject before the throne ? By the crea- 
ture they may now rise to admire the wisdom, acknow- 
ledge the goodness, and adjre the power of him who 
made the whole ; but when arrived at God himself in 
all his glory, shall they again descend to meditate on 
even the noblest of his works, which are but the prints 
of his majesty, and the traces of his power ? As the 
apostle speaks in another sense, " after they know God" 
in that state of perfection, and are known of him in the 
communion of glory, " Shall they return again to weak 
and beggarly elements :" For if the law was such when 
compared to the gospel, much more is natural phiioso- 
phy such when compared to glory. Though the house 
be beautiful, yet he that builds the house has more hon- 
or than the house. Now, we may stand and admire the 
palace abroad ; but when admitted in, to converse with 
the royal family that inhabits it, would we choose t© 



130 solitude sweetened; or, 

leave their company, and retire to take a view of the 
windows, doors, walks, and avenues belonging to the 
building, while we have the furniture, the immense 
treasures, and precious rarities within, to behold, and 
the royal personages to talk with ? Even so, when we 
pass into the highest heavens, and sit down before the « 
throne to hold communion for eternity with Jehovah in 
his Son, shall we then give up with our searches into 
his divine excellences and adorable perfections, in or- 
der to calculate the return of a wandering comet, study 
the laws of the starry heavens, and explore the secrets 
of nature ? 

It is true, every thing in which God has been pleased 
to reveal himself, shall the saints study with delight ; 
but as he has revealed himself more in his Son than ei- 
ther in creation or providence, so God in Christ shall 
be the uninterrupted, the pleasant, the supreme study 
of the saints above. His infinite glories shall eternally 
engage all the ravished powers of my mind to follow 
hard after God; and I will pursue my study while end- 
less ages roll. I shall be so swallowed up of glory, so 
enamoured with the beauties of my divine Redeemer, 
beauaes never yet beheld, and so lost in God, that my 
whole attention shall be totally engrossed, and I shall 
not have one recoiling thought on the then forgotten 
lessons of philosophy. In a word, if ever I arrive at 
that blessed place till I find no more beauty in the Rose 
of Sharon, no more glory in the Sun of Righteousness, 
no more satisfaction in continual feeling after God, and 
no more fulness m infinity itself, I shall never lift mine 
eyes from off my object, never change my theme. 



MEDITATION LXVL 

THE WORLD ASLEEP. 

Under sail, Feb. 9, 1759. 
The whole world is, with respect to a future state, 
as it were fast asleep. In this night of universal dark- 
ness and ignorance, the greater part are dreaming in 
their sleep, and, believing themselves to be broad awake, 
are verily persuaded that all is real y because their dreams 
are regular. Yea, like night-walkers, they perform* 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 131 

the actions of a busy world in their sleep; and, confi- 
dent that they are in the full use and exercise of their 
reason, they wage war, they buy and sell, they marry 
and are given in marriage, and weary and fatigue them- 
selves in this continual dream. Now, who can persuade 
us in a dream, that either we ourselves are dreaming, 
or those we talk with in our dream ? This is the true 
but melancholy condition of the most part of mankind : 
They dream, while they think themselves to be awake, 
and slumber over the day of life, while they seem to 
exert the greatest activity to obtain solid and substan- 
tial good. 

Alas ! neither admonition nor reproof, nor the sad 
example of ten thousand dreamers who have gone be- 
fore, can awake individuals, till they are led by the hand 
of death behind the curtain, .and made to look at once 
full on a world of spirits. Nor is the general race of 
slumberers to be roused, till the last trumpet sound in 
their affrighted ears, and eternity expand awful and un- 
known in their staring eyes. 

There are, however., a few, (and but a. few, alasi) 
who are spiritually awake, and whose thoughts pierce 
through the dark shadows of this dismal night, into the 
light of glory, and the regions of bliss. Such look be- 
yond the glittering tapers and deceitful glow-worms of 
honors, riches, pleasures, and applause, which are the 
present chase, (which should be the shame,) and future 
cheat, (which shall be the sorrow,) of a comatose* world. 
And yet, in this imperfect state, even they are but like 
men struggling with the darkness of the night-watches, 
waiting for the morning-light, and wishing for the per- 
fect day. Such, however, are the only persons who 
have their loins girt, and their lamps burning, in expec- 
tation of the Bridegroom, at whose coming the day will 
break, the shadows flee away, and a light, seven times 
brighter than the noon-day sun, shall shine for ever on 
them. Then, and not till then, shall the darkness pass, 
and the true light without interruption shine. While 
in the dark we wander, while in the gloom we grope, 
waiting for the longed-for day, we are ready to fall 
asleep, and to spend our time in slumbering thought- 
lessness, in drowsy inactivity ; but when the day of 
glory shall spring, when the light of hi* countenance 
* Lethargic, drowsy, 



132 SOLITUDE sweetened; or, 

is lifted up on us for ever, and the noon of uninterrupt- 
ed communion spreads round us, then, unconscious of 
the falling shades, unconscious of returning night, di- 
vine strength from the Rock of ages shall invigorate ev- 
ery power of mind to adore the Most High, with all the 
ardor of seraphic love, an exercise as agreeable as it 
shall be uninterrupted and eternal. 



MEDITATION LXVII. 

STILL IGNORANT OF GOD BELOW. 

Feb. 11, 1759. 

It was a question proposed long ago, by a great teach- 
er, in his divine lectures of God, " What is his name, 
and what is his Son's name, if thou canst tell ?" And 
it remains unanswered unto this day : " For no man 
knoweth the Son but the Father ; neither knoweth any 
man the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the 
Son shall reveal him." Now, this revelation on account 
of our ignorance, cannot be bright ; for if, when the 
great Teacher told us of earthly things, we could not 
understand them, how much less if he should tell us of 
heavenly things, and least of all if he should reveal to 
us the mysteries of his eternal Godhead ! 

Alas ! arn not I, in some respects, a Christian hea- 
then, if I may be allowed the expression, while I pay 
my devotions to the unknown God ? I walk in the twi- 
light, I adore in a cloud, and worship I know not whom. 
But do I not worship God ? well, what is God ? Is he 
not a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable ; wise, 
powerful, holy, just, good, gracious, faithful, omnis- 
cient, and omnipresent ? But' what it is to be infinite, 
eternal, and unchangeable, I neither can conceive nor 
tell. I stretch my thoughts on either hand in his infin- 
ity, till I lose myself in the unfathomable abyss; I re- 
volve his eternal duration ere time began, and when 
time shall be no more, till all my thoughts are swallow- 
ed up But when I have done my utmost, my concep- 
tions are only forming some grand ideas of a creature ; 
for as my thoughts of his infinity are circumscribed 
within bounds, and of his eternity come to an end, they 
belong to a creature, and not to the Creator. H'ow« 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 133 

then, can I repair the indignity done to his majesty by 
my grovelling meditations ? Only thus, by confessing, 
that after all my stretch, his every perfection is still in- 
finitely beyond all that I can say or think. 

Hence, let me join reverence with my ignorance ; 
holy dread, with my shallow conceptions of God ; and 
ardent love, and profound humility, with all my devo- 
tions. Mindful that the awful mystery could be reveal- 
ed by none, because none hath seen, none hath known. 
God, let me be thankful,' that " the only-begotten Son, 
who lay in the Father's bosorn, hath declared him." 

Every divine perfection, every adorable attribute, is 
more than sufficient to engross the study and attention 
of men and angels for ever ; and the more they search, 
and the longer they learn, U|e more they see and con- 
fess God to be infinite and unknown. 

When shall that glorious morning dawn, when my* 
ignorance, like the early fogs lhat fly the rising sun, 
shall be no more, and the great Apostle and High- 
Priest of our profession, shall, in the light of glory, de- 
clare to me the God whom now at best I lgnorantly 
adore ? 



MEDITATION LXVIII. 

NOTHING CAN PURCHASE CHRIST FROM THE SOUL. 

Under sail, Feb. 13, 1759. 
" What is thy Beloved more than another beloved ?'* 
was once asked of the spouse by those who knew him 
not so well as she did. Now, worldlings 1 let me hear 
what you will lay in the balance with my Beloved, that, 
in refusing your largest offers, it may appear how much 
I esteem my dearest Lord, and best beloved. Will ye, 
then, give me gold and silver till I can desire, till I can 
stow no more ? Ah ! your heaps of shining dust will not, 
cannot purchase him from me. Will ye give me titles, 
honour, and glory for him ? Ah \ empty sounds shall 
never take away from me, him who is true, solid, and 
substantial bliss. Will ye give me the earth for my pos- 
session, subjugate its kingdoms to my sway, tell over 
the stars into mine inheritance, and make the whole 
universe mine own ? This, even all this, will not ba- 
lance the loss of rav beloved \ for compared with his 

M 



1 34 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J ©R, 

excellences, all things are but loss and dung. Finally, 
will ye give me another beloved instead of him ? But 
where can such an one be found ? In him all perfections 
meet, in him all glories shine ; in him all excellences 
reside, in him all plenitude abounds. All I can wish 
for, or desire, is to be found in him ; yea, more than 
I can receive super-abounds in him. Now, have ye any 
thing in reserve to offer me for him ? No I Then take 
up, and remove your dust and ashes, food for worms, 
and fuel for the flames. These could not all purchase 
from me one kiss of his mouth, one glance of his coun- 
tenance, and far less the beloved himself. But, one 
word of comfort to you ere you go. Though I may 
not, cannot, will not sell my part and interest in my 
dearest Lord, yet, on his twn terms, you may be pos- 
sessed of him in all his glorious fulness, in whom alone 
you can be blessed, and without whom, in the midst of 
all your plenty, you must be extremely poor, and ex- 
quisitely miserable. 

But now, my soul ! one reproof to thee. Thou wilt 
not sell thine interest in Christ for any thing, nor ex- 
change thy portion for the universe : Why, then, should 
not Christ, and an interest in hi in, be an ail-sufficiency 
to thee ? And if the universe could not content thee 
without Christ, why should not Christ content thee 
without the least dust of the universe ? 



MEDITATION LXIX. 

TORMENT. 

Under sail, Feb. U, 1759. 
Men, and I among the rest, have a mistaken notion 
of torment. I shudder to hear of protracted agonies 
on the dying malefactor ; — to hear of the rack, (invent- 
ed by boundless rage, and improved by infernal cruelty,) 
decreed by the powerful offended party, to torture to 
death my fellow-creature. Yea, the groans of dying 
mortals pierce mine ears, and make me sharer of their 
pains. But what are all human inventions, when we 
look beyond then) ? what is the glittering sword, or 
sharpened axe ? What the musket, with its deadly ex- 
plosion ? What the gibbet, with ten thousand specta- 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. J35 



tors ? What the bastinadoing clubs, the stamping ele- 
phant, the quartering horses ? What the piked barrels, 
the breaking wheel, the boots and thumbkins, the suf- 
focating dungeon, or the calcinating flame ? How do 
they all disappear before these words, — divine ven- 
geance, — eternal wrath ! 

But how do the tormentors fail short of their designs, 
when the guilty wretch, a parricide, or a regicide, is 
condemned to be put to the torture so long everyday, 
and by unfriendly intermissions of the rack, death is 
parcelled out in the most cruel manner which can be 
invented, till justice is satisfied, cruelty glutted, or till 
the sufferer, sinking under his pains, expives and is no 
more I Now, suppose this miserable wretch, (whom 
we conclude happy, because the scene no more affects 
our eyes,) to die impenitent ; and suppose him also to 
have his choice, whether to stay in the anguish of the 
invisible world, or to return to the torments he lately 
left. How soon should we see him fondly, (so to speak,) 
embrace the flames, present his gaping wounds to the 
boiling oil and scalding lead, and his naked body to the 
scourging steel, and weary his tormentors ! Such is the 
difference between the rage of man and the wrath of 
the Almighty. That reaches to the body, but this, in all 
its terrors, transfixes the soul. The one, finite in its 
nature, terminates in death ; the other, infinite in its 
degrees, preys on every faculty, and swallows up the 
whole soul, and in its duration measures with eternity- 
How amazing the love of the Father that gave his 
Son for sinners 1 How amazing the love of the Son 
that gave his life a ransom for many ! that sustained the 
burning load of his Almighty Father's wrath, that our 
torments might sit light, and that our last pangs might 
translate us into the joy of our Lord. 



MEDITATION LXX. 

THE SOUL'S GROWTH. 

Under sail. Fed. 15, 1759. 
From my present ignorance, gloomy thoughts some- 
times arise, but by some considerations I shall turn this 
shadow of death into the morning. 



135 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; 0% 

When I look back a few years, I recollect, that my 
thoughts about common things were much contracted 
to what they are now. " When I was a child, I thought 
as a child ;" for though I heard surrounding sounds, 
and- the speeches of all about me, yet they were too 
vast for me to comprehend; nor could I convey mine 
ideas to them in articulate words. Yea, when I rose a 
little from this infantile state, I could not shake myself 
free of my ignorance, nor form any proper notion of the 
embelting oceans, opposite poles, antipodes, and the 
earth hung upon nothing. Stiil I knew nothing of the 
heavenly bodies, of the glorious sun, splendid moon, 
or sparkling stars ; of the beauteous rainbow, falling 
showers, and flashing thunders. These things, then 
tco sublime for me to think on, are now, in some sense, 
both intelligible and familiar; and this arises, not from 
any addition of new powers, but from an increase of the 
faculties, (by whatever means,) of my soul. 

Now, let me turn the page, and let my meditation 
stretch its wings towards eternal bliss. It is a reviving 
thought, that this soul of mine, if united to the living 
Son of God, the life-giving Head, shall know divine 
thittgs in the light of glory. Things which I have 
hardly heard. of, and which, for the grossness of my 
Ignorance now, cannot enter into my heart, shall then 
be my darling themes. Moreover, as sun, moon, and 
stars, appear more beautiful to me than formerly, not 
from any new addition of glory to them, but by my 
clearer knowledge of their nature and magnitude ; so 
that I am convinced, that if the stars were as near us 
as the torch of day, they would all appear as so many 
flaming suns ; and that, if the sun himself were as 
near as the moon, whether I looked east or west, south 
or north, till my glance were terminated, still I should 
see nothing but one immense, insufferable, flaming 
firmament of fire ! so when translated to the paradise 
of God, how shall my soul be delighted with the knowl- 
edge of the Most High, and ravished with the prospect 
of growing wiser and wiser in the things of God ! 
Though my soul shall then be perfect in comparison of 
what she is now, and perfect with respect to all the 
parts of knowledge, happiness, and bliss ; yet as to the 
extent pf the degree, that shall always be on the in- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS,' tSf 

crease ; for though the finite mind can never know all 
that is to be known of an infinite Being, who only com- 
prehends himself, yet it will be the excellency, the 
delight, and employment of glorified saints, still to as- 
pire after more and more of God. 

Now, though no new perfections, attributes, excel- 
lences, or glories, shall ever be found in God, being 
all eternally and essentially in him, yet the longer I am 
in his presence, the more glorious will he be to me, be- 
cause I shall know him more and more. And the more 
of him I know, the more shall I admire and love him ; 
and the more I admire and love him, I shall become the 
liker to him ; and the liker to him, the larger and more 
capacious will my soul become ; and the more exten- 
sive the faculties of my soul are, the more shall I ap- 
prehend of God ', and the more of God is apprehended 
and known, the more he is glorified. Thus, in an eternal 
progression of knowing, admiring, loving, and being 
assimilated to God, and of enlargement of the soul, 
whereby she will be enabled still the more to love, ad- 
mire, and know, be assimilated to, approach, and par- 
ticipate of the communicable perfections of the God- 
head, shall consist the uninterrupted employm^at, and 
entrancing felicity of the blessed, while, through the 
whole, God is all in all. 

Again, if there be such a difference between my- 
thoughts when I first essayed to speak, and when arri- 
ved at ten years of age, and between them at ten years 
old, and those of whom I am at present capable; what 
shall the divine increase of my soul be, when in the bea- 
tific vision of Jehovah and the Lamb, I shall have been 
an astonished, ravished, ardent adorer for a thousand 
years, and add to that another thousand, till numbers 
fail, and computation is swallowed up in eternity itself? 
Shall I not kindle in his love, brighten in his flame, and 
be assimilated to him in his eternal irradiation ? 

Again, when I consider the vast disproportion there 
is among the mental faculties of the sons of men, so 
that one has the most absurd views of ail things, while 
another has adequate conceptions of most things, and 
sublime though imperfect apprehensions of God him- 
self, I stand amazed to find, not only that the meanest 
•saint, who is united to him in whom the fulness of the 
M 2 



133 SOLITUDE SWEETEKED J OH, 

Godhead dwells bodily, far outshines the wisest men of 
the world, but that one saint differs greatly from another, 
not only in this world but in the world to come. In the 
firmament of bliss, star differeth from star in glory, yet 
every star is glorious, and full of glory. Now, this dif- 
ference of degrees in glory is begun below. " He that 
sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly ; but he that 
sows plentifully, shall reap plentifully" for ever. The 
soul that burns in the fire of love, shall come forth an 
immortal phoenix ; and as beds of gold are said to ri- 
pen in the beams of the sun, so shall they w r ho lie most 
in the rays of the Sun of Righteousness, ripen into the 
brightest glory. Now, when all are plunged into feli- 
city and glory, every soul shall be perfect, and replen- 
ished with glory ; yet every soul shall preserve its at- 
tainments, keep the happy start, and retain its growth, 
when the weak are as the house of David, and the 
house of David as the angel of God. Therefore, the 
larger and more capacious the soul is, in an higher 
manner is God known ; and the more God is known, 
the more he is glorified ; and this advantage is to be 
pursued after, below. This is the seed-time for a plen- 
teous eternity. This is the ambition God allows, the 
avarice'* heaven commends. What are kingdoms, 
crowns, or titles, what riches, glory, fame, in compar- 
ison of this, to get my soul dilated, enlarged, capacita- 
ted to receive much of God, by which he will be glori-. 
fied the more, and in which will consist the quintes- 
sence of my felicity for ever ? 



MEDITATION LXXI. 

THIS LIFE A VALE OF TEARS. 

Feb. 19, 1759. 
Why have I mistaken this thorny wilderness for a 
garden of flowers ? this place of danger for a palace of 
delight ? and this howling desert for an enchanting 
grove ? If the world has joys, it has none for me ; they 
are carnal or unlawful, mine must be pure and spiritu- 
al. If the creature affords pleasures, they cannot suit 
my soul ; its honey is mixed with gall, its sweet with 
wormwood, its wine with water, its gold with dross, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 139 

and all it yields with poison. The pleasures I should 
seek are such as my soul may feed on without danger, 
feast on without surfeiting, and rejoice in without sin. 

Again, why do I expect comfort in this world ? Can 
I hope, or even desire, to go through the valley of tears 
singing ? or to dwell in the house of mourning laugh- 
ing ? Would 1 fare better than my. best friend ? While 
here, he was a man of sorrows, and shall 1 not taste 
the briny cup ? He was acquainted with grief, and shall 
I be a stranger to it ? Would I be kindly entertained in 
that very place where he had not where to lay his head ? 
Would I fare like the kings of the earth, when King of 
kings fared not so well as the fowls of heaven, or the 
foxes of the field ? Would I go another way to glory 
than the saints ever trode ! Would I go through one 
heaven to another^when it is through much tribulation 
I must enter "into the kingdom? Can the children of 
the bride-chamber be glad when the Bridegroom i3 not 
with them ? Can 1 be easy, can I be quiet, among the 
enemies of my Lord the King, where the general voice 
is, " Shall this man reign over us ? We will not have 
him for our king, we will not take him for our Saviour. 5 * 

Oh! that my head were waters, and mine eyes a 
fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for 
the sins of my fellow-creatures, for the slain of my fel- 
low-sinners ! Let sorrow seize on my hear:, and grief 
fix her iron talons there ; it is all I can do for the hon- 
our of my Lord. I shall know no grief buc for thee, no 
joy but in thee ; — no grief but in thee, wounded in thy 
glory, blasphemed in thy name, disbelieved in thy prom- 
ises, defamed in thy holiness, abused in thy saints 3 con- 
temned in thy threatenings, slighted in thy love, and 
contradicted in thy truth ; — no joy but in thee, as my 
only portion, my exceeding great reward ; — no comfort 
but in thee, conquering in the everlasting gospel, and 
worshipped from the rising to the setting sun. 

This is the night of weeping ; and though weeping 
endure through the night of time, yet joy cometh in tne 
morning of eternity. I must fight while on the field of 
battle ; and it is enough to get the crown when won. I 
am as an hireling, and I must not lie down to rest till 
the evening-shadows cover my weary limbs. Tne \yoi d 
is too barren a soil to bear true joy ; for where sin with* 



140 SOLITtfBE SWEETENED; OHj 

in and round about abounds, how can consolation tri- 
umph, which rises only as the other falls, and falls as 
the opposite rises ? But in this my comfort lies, that 
though in the world I shall have trouble, yet in him I 
may be of good cheer, because he has overcome the 
world. Moreover, in midst of all the sorrow that now 
surrounds me, I have an inward joy that causes all my 
bones to sing and blossom with the beautiful prospect 
of a joy coming from its divine fountain, which without 
the least fear of returning sorrow, shall be the strength 
of my soul for ever. 



MEDITATION LXXII. 

THE MADNESS OF THE WORLD IN THEIR CHOICE, 

Under mil> Feb. 19, 1759. 
Why rejects the world the Saviour of the world ? 
Why abhor they him who is altogether lovely, and hate 
him who is the best Friend of mankind ? Had I the 
tongue of a cherub, that has heard the language of glo- 
ry, and mingled in the discourse of the hosts before the 
throne for these five thousand years ; or could I talk in 
every tongue, extend my voice to every nation, and 
speak so loud and long, that the assembled universe 
should hear, what should be my theme, my darling, fa- 
vourite theme I Surely the Son of God, the Saviour of 
the world. How would I dwell on his divine name, and 
enlarge on his transporting relations, till all the nee- 
dy nations fell prostrate adorers before the throne of 
their kinsman-Redeemer, and their God i But if they 
disdained to listen to a fellow-creature, how would my 
soul cheerfully pour out herself into articulate thunder, 
or distinct echo, thereby to repeat his praise and con- 
vey his excellences into the ear of thousands, and ten 
thousands of attentive hearers, till they should submit 
to him, bow the knee, and begin the work of heaven on 
earth. Then would I, with contentment, drop down in- 
to the dust, mingle with my kindred clay, and be no 
more. Yea, what would it matter though I should no 
more exist, if ten thousand thousand warbling tongues 
were added to the general sung, to extol the fairest One, 
the Plant of renown, for ever? Such an insignificant 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. Ml 

nothing as I am, would make no blank in the list of be- 
ings, or the roll of creation ; and O what massy joy 
would it afford me to think of the happiness of millions 
of my fellow-creatures ! — But to quit with my being, I 
must quit with thee, my life, n.y love, my God, my all ! 
I fly the very thought, and to my happiness shall still 
exist, and to my greater happiness still, exist the friend 
of God I 

But what shall I do for my best Beloved ? I dare not 
sometimes speak of him, and many times on his account 
I am a derision. But, O men of the world ! what can 
you desire that is not in Christ ? What distress can you 
dread, from which he cannot deliver you ? The excel- 
lences of earth are but his footstool, the excellences of 
heaven are but his throne ; how excellent, then, must 
he himself be*! His treasures are infinite, and open 
for you : Riches, if ye are poor ; honor, if ye are de- 
spised ; friendship, if ye are forsaken ; help, if ye are 
orphans ; justice, if ye are injured ; mercy, if ye are 
miserable ; joy, if ye are disconsolate ; protection, if 
ye are exposed ; deliverance, if ye are in danger ; health, 
if ye are in disease ; life, if ye are mortal ; and, in 
brief, all things, if ye have nothing at all. Time and 
eternity are his, and he can give you all the good things 
of the one, and all the glorious things of the other. 
Moreover, he can deliver you from all your fears ; from 
sin, the worst of all evils ; from self, the most hurtful 
of all companions ; from death, the most awful of all 
changes ; from Satan, the most subtle of all enemies ; 
from hell, the most horrible of all prisons ; and from 
wrath, the doom of all sinners. 

Now, where will ye find such an one as he ? Why, 
then, refuse life, and seek after death ? All heaven is 
enamored with his beauty ; and why, then, will ye pre- 
fer a midnight-gloom before his meridian glory ? The 
longer we look on created gaieties, they grow the lean- 
er and more ill-favored ; so that, by the time we have 
viewed them forty, fifty, or sixty years, we see nothing 
but vanity in the creature ; but when ten thousand ages 
are employed in beholding this Perfection of beauty, 
still he appears more and more lovely, even altogether 
lovely. Why will not the world awaken from its fatal 
dream, let go shadows, and grasp at everlasting sub- 



142 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

stance ? Alas ! I can say nothing of his excellences ; 
they overwhelm my laboring thought, and are too vast 
for my feeble conception to bring forth. 

But let the world choose whom or what it will for a 
portion, still, as for me and my house, and all I can pre- 
vail upon, we will choose this well-beloved, and serve 
this Lord. 



MEDITATION LXXIII. 

THE APPROACHING HAPPINESS OF THE SAINTS. 

Feb. 23, 1759. 

To escape my sorrow, and triumph in the midst of 
grief, let me suppose futurity present, and eternity at 
hand, which may very soon, but must ere long, be the 
case. May I not, then, with the eye of all-triumphant 
faith, think I see myself walking with my well-beloved 
in white along the fields of glory, and my whole soul 
going out to him in a manner it never could below ! 
While floods of glory from his reconciled face overflow 
me, and the smile of his amiable countenance entrances 
my soul for ever ! While I join the hosannas of the 
higher house, the eternal hallelujahs, and begin the 
song which none can learn but the chosen number, the 
sealed ones ! With what transport do I mingle with the 
hosts of God, and, to my extreme comfort, fear not 
one sinner in the heavenly company, or any thing ex- 
pressed against the majesty of the Most High ! Where 
ail the heavenly multitudes, transforming in his beams, 
kindling m his flames, and drinking at his ecstatic riv- 
ers, are happy beyond conception. 

Such is the felicity the saints shall enter into, yea, 
in a manner are entered into already. So short is the 
interval between now and then, this present-and that fu- 
ture state, that their glory is as it were begun. Faith 
and hope entering like an anchor within the vail, the 
saints of God rise at one step from this vale of tears, 
to the hill of God, to the mount of communion. Now, 
why should the noise of the rabble, or uproar of the 
street, trouble me, when I am entering the very door 
of my everlasting habitation, and shall soon be eternal- 
ly out of the reach of their confusion and murmurs I 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 143 

Henceforth, let the near prospect of that eternal tri- 
umph blunt my present grief, scatter my troubles, and 
spread serenity in my breast. 



MEDITATION LXXIV. 

WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT AND WAIT FOR. 

Gibraltar Bay, JBcb. 24, 1759. 
How are our joys heightened by hope, and that some- 
times an hope that is false 1 And how vainly are our 
expectations pointed at some future enjoyment, which, 
when it comes, shall perhaps disappoint us in the en- 
joyment I Yet, for such things we long, though, in a 
manner, we are hankering after our own misery. But 
how much does it rather tyecome me, if I be an heir of 
God, an expectant of bliss, and a candidate for glory, 
to be waiting for him who shall appear the second time 
without sin unto salvation ; to be hastening unto the day 
of the Lord, and crying, " Why is his chariot so long 
in coming ? why tarry the wheels of his chariot V 9 When 
will these empyrean heavens divide, to let my Lord de- 
scend ? When will these celestial doors fly open, that 
the exalted One may come in all his state, in his own 
and in his Father's glory, with his hoiy angels ? When 
shall the starry way of eternal communion be stretched 
out between the highest heavens, and the new earth, 
wherein shall dwell righteousness I When shall I be* 
gin to behold him in all his glory, whom eye hath not 
seen, and to see thee without a cloud, who art altogeth- 
er lovely ! When shall my soul be revived with the smell 
of the Rose of Sharon in the paradise of God, and sit 
down with great delight under the shadow of the Tree 
of life, the Plant of renown, and eat of thy immortal- 
izing fruit, and drink of thy refined wine ? When shall 
I join my songs with the anthems of eternity, and min- 
gle my grateful notes with the harpers round the throne? 
When shall the hiding hills, the intervening heights, 
be molten down by the beatific vision of thy blessed 
self, and the valley of darkness, and deeps of despond- 
ency, rise into the mount of communion ? When shall 
I enter into the joy of my Lord, walk with thee in white, 
and be satisfied with thy likeness ? Then shall I know 



144 . solitude sweetened; or, 

thee as I expect, praise thee as I aspire after, and love 
thee as I would. 



MEDITATION LXXV. 

THE SPIRITUAL MISER. 

Gibraltar Bay, Feb. 25, 1759. 

Who is more an object of ridicule than the rich mi- 
ser, that goes supperless to bed, because he will not give 
one farthing out of his immense sums to purchase it ; 
being afraid to live on what he is never able to spend, 
and anxious to heap up what he can never enjoy. 

Shall I, then, act the miser in spiritual things ? Shall 
I be afraid to live on the all-sufficient fulness of my Lord, 
lest his stores decay ? Shall I«spare to drink of his over- 
flowing ocean, lest it grow dry before my face ? Heaven 
no less loves a liberal receiver, than a liberal giver. Is 
it decorous to hunger at the table of the king, or to say 
to the enriching hand, Hold, thou canst not spare so 
much ? The miser's wretched parsimony may, after 
his death, advantage his heirs, and, in the mean time, 
accumulate his own riches ; but the case is not so wfth 
me. My living for the present poorly and sparingly on 
the promises, will never advantage my after-state, nor 
leave any greater plenty for- other saints ; neither will 
it make the celestial treasures any fuller, that I fetch 
not daily from them. Though Daniel looked fairer than 
those that fed on the polluted bread of the king of Baby- 
lon, yet my soul will look but thin ar«! lean, unless it 
feed and feast on the daily allowance of the King of glo- 
ry, whose table is covered with an infinite plenty. Ail 
the angels and all the saints may banquet continually 
without lessening the divine store, which, as to the dis- 
play and manifestation, increases, as once or twice in 
the days of his flesh, among the numerous eaters, and 
grows among the happy guests. Why then pine at such 
a table, starve in the midst of so much plenty, and con- 
vert divine liberality into the parsimony of unbelief? 
Shall I confine that bounty that is rather nonplussed 
where to pour its plenitude, (because few will accept 
of Christ and his fulness,) than at a loss for a supera- 
bundancy to bestow ? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 145 

Henceforth let my soul by faith live at large on the 
promises, and be spiritually grand at the expenses of 
the King, who will not grudge it. Let me put-on the 
royal apparel of the Son of God, the vesture of impu- 
ted righteousness ; and, as a sign that this is the em? 
broidered garment of my inner man, keep clean hands, 
and an holy walk. Why should I creep and grovel in 
the by-ways of darkness, and foot-paths of desponden- 
cy, when I may ride in the chariot of the covenant, 
which Solomon has built for the daughters of Jerusa- 
lem, and paved its midst with love ? Why should I 
walk a-foot through fear and faithlessness, when my 
seat is empty there, and none can take it up ? Then, to 
the honor of him to whom I belong, I will appear like 
one of the royal family of heaven. I will rejoice in him 
always, and again I will rejoice. I will feast my soul 
with his divine dainties, and suck the honey of the 
promises. I will satiate myself with his goodness, and 
drink at his river that gladdens the city of God. I will 
not dwell in the shadow of sorrow, but come out and 
walk in the light of his countenance, in the brightness 
of his glory. I will importune his sin-subduing grace, 
and plead for strength to fight the battles of the Lord, 
that in his name I may conquer all my foes. I will ex- 
patiate on the opulence of my treasure, the extent of 
my inheritance, and the excellences of my Beloved ; 
and live to the glory of him who giveth me all things 
richly to enjoy, according to the rank of an heir of God., 
according to the grandeur of a joint-heir with Christ. 



MEDITATION LXXVL 

CONTRADICTIONS. 

Gibraltar Bay, Feb. £6, 1759. 
I am ever guilty of some folly, some unaccountable 
folly; and either 'my faith condemns my fears, or my 
fears accuse my faith of folly. If I may safely trust to 
God as my guardian and guide, in the shadow, in the 
darkness of death, where, for ail my friends, where, 
for the whole woi?ld, I must walk alone ; why should I 
distrust him in the high-way of life, where thousands 
walk with me I Dzvg I commit the concerns of in v soul 
N 



146 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

to him, and hope for salvation in his name, yet dis- 
trust him with the cares of my present life, nor hope 
for its necessaries in his providence ? Can I venture my 
soul into his hand, and think it safe through the intri- 
cate mazes of an eternal duration, yet doubt if I may 
depend on his promise and providence, through the few 
windings of a transitory life ? Or will God care for the 
soul, but cast off the body ? Will he feed the raven, 
deck the lily, but starve the saint ? WiLl he give of the 
good things of this life, even to superfluity, to his ene- 
mies, and withhold necessary supplies from his people ? 
A naked supply here is enough for those that shall in- 
herit all things hereafter. Can he guide the stars in 
their courses, and the orderly revolution of day and 
night, summer and winter, seed-time and harvest, and 
not over-rule the occurrences of my life ? Can he, who 
has given up his Son freely for me, not as freely to me 
with him give all good things ? Do I conceit God to be 
the God of the mountains of eternity, but not of the val- 
leys of time ; and that because his habitation is in the 
heights of glory, he governs not the deep places of the 
earth, which are also in his hand ? How great a beast 
in sacred matters am I, who can devolve my great all 
on him, and yet distrust him with trifles, and what is 
nothing at all ! 

Now, as all I seek is to enter the gate of glory, not 
anxious what will become of me afterward, or how the 
vast demands of my enlarged soul, mine immortal pow- 
ers, shall be supplied through endless ages ; even so, 
as I am already entered among the numerous beings of 
this lower orb, all which are supplied from his bounty, 
preserved by his power, and governed by his providence, 
I have no cause of anxiety about my present situation, 
about my passing life ; only, in the lawful use of lawful 
means, to commit all into his hand, who does all things 
well, and gives to all his people an expected end. 

MEDITATION LXXVII. 

THE CONFUSION OF THE WICKED AT THE GENERAL 
JUDGMENT. 

Gibraltar Bay, Feb. 28, 1759. 
Alas I men now sin with impunity and boldness ; but 
when 1 dart my thoughts beyond the grave, and see the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS^ 147 

sinking multitude gathered before the awful bar, the 
angry tribunal, the vindictive Judge, how will they 
look 1 Have I ever seen one affronted, and put to the 
blush ? One sentenced to infamy, one put into the high- 
est throes of unruly passion, or one condemned to 
death ? All this is but like modesty blushing, in com- 
parison of the confusion of guilt, and the eternal gloom 
of horror, which shall take fast hold on them, when 
the incensed Judge pronounces their sentence in these 
killing words, Depart from me. Where will they hide 
their guilty heads, and where conceal their shame ? 
They will not be able to cover with a good countenance 
their condemnation, as they do now their sin which 
causes it. How will the ground shake, and the earth 
tremble beneath the trembling multitude ! What fear- 
ful aspects ! what rueful looks I what rolling eyes ! 
what frightful gestures I what lamentable bowlings I 
what doleful bewailmgs I what preposterous complaints! 
what despairing expressions I what agonizing groans ! 
what intolerable horror ! what gnawing anguish I what 
starings of guilt 1 what roarings of awakened con- 
science ! and what horrible blasphemies against the di- 
vine Judge himself, shall they be subject to, and em- 
ployed in, in that tremendous day ! How will they call 
to the hills to hide them, and run to be lost in the ru- 
ins of the tumbling rocks, but in vain ! 

But whence will these spectres come, these trem- 
bling ones be gathered ? From another world ? Ah I 
they are even of these gay and gallant ones, who now 
walk the round of life, jocund and unconcerned, and 
ignorant of godly sorrow 1 but who shall then be over- 
whelmed, and that for ever, with a grief too vast for 
language to express, too tremendous and unintellible 
for conception to apprehend ; but such as every son of 
man, in the time of hope, the place of repentance, and 
day of grace, should study to escape ; for even Bedlam* 
compared to them, is an house of sober-witted men ! 
Who knows the power of thy wrath ? Who knows it 
but the damned ? And yet they know it not, for an eter- 
nity of torment is but teaching them the agonizing les- 
son. Who dares to know it, but the bold, the blind, 
the headstrong sinner, who never puts the question to 
himself that concerns him most, and might awake him 3 



148 solitude sweetened; or, 

" Who of us can dwell with devouring fire ? Who with 
everlasting burnings ? How shall we escape the wrath 
to come ?" 



MEDITATION LXXVIII. 

MERCIES ABUSED. 

Gibraltar Bay, March I, 1759. 

Many are the mercies we receive from heaven ; but 
it is shocking to think how we convert these mercies 
into an occasion of sin, and make them the cause of aw- 
ful miseries. By the senses of the body the soui is 
wounded, (and yet the loss of any one sense is a sensi- 
ble ^miction ; while our eyes, which should look right 
on, and by which we may search the scriptures af 
truth, are full of adultery, and used only in conveying 
vain objects to our irilhd; while our ears, that should 
hear the sound of the everlasting gospel, the words of 
life, take in only blasphemies, backbitings, evil reports, 
impure discourse, vain jangiings, and contentions ; and, 
alas ! are entertained therewith : While our lips and 
tongues, that should move only to mutual edification, 
are employed in detraction and slander, and dwell on 
profane and trifling themes ; and while our feet, that 
should carry us to the house of God, and about our 
lawful affairs, run only to mischief, and are swift in the 
ways of wickedness. 

Moreover, we abuse common mercies also, turning 
a full table into gluttony and drunkenness ; competency 
into excess ; plenty into extravagance ; apparel into 
pride ; station into vain show ; confidence into arrogance ; 
riches into presumption ; honour into haughtiness ; and 
power into oppression. Yea, we also abuse mercies of 
a more noble nature, while we employ our wisdom in 
wrangling, our parts in perverse disputings, our at- 
tainments in ostentation, and our knowledge in emula- 
tion. Finally, in every thing we offend : while under 
afflictions we are faithless ; in trials, distrust the prom- 
ise ; and when disappointed, despond. Of deliver- 
ance, we are forgetful ; in prosperity, secure ; in sick- 
ness, sullen or stupid , and in health, full of levity, and 
a delight in earthly things. Thus, by the abuse of 
mercies, we turn the grace of God into wantonness. 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 149 

Surely tho mercies of the Most High are above all 
his works, and fill the earth. He continues to bestow 
those very mercies on us, which we so much abuse, 
when he might at once strike us blind, duu*b, and deaf; 
when he might at once blow upon our blessings, and 
cause our table -comforts to decay ; when he might tread 
us in the mire of adversity, and cause the waters of af- 
fliction to flow over our heads ; when he might blast our 
judgment, sense, and reason, -and, turning us into idiots, 
make us objecis of pity to all ; and when he alight hide 
his countenance, and make us go mourning without the 
sun. To him, whose mercies know no bound, let cur 
praises know no end. 



MEDITATION LXXIX. 

THE FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. 

Gibraltar Bay, March 2, 1759. 

To forgive our enemies, and forget the injuries which 
have been done us, is a noble, though very difficult du- 
ty ; and from the opposition it meets with from within, 
I find that it is above the natural man to perform. Na- 
ture would make less resistance to it, if it were less 
godlike and divine. There are some men who have 
done me injuries in more respects than one ; and, alas ! 
I find that I can scarcely recollect their names without 
these injuries, though done to me years ago, presenting 
themselves as if they had happened yesterday. Tnis 
shows the rancour of my mind, and the deep impress 
sions such things make there, while the mercies of the 
Most High are shamefully forgotten. But now je» me 
compose my mind, and reconcile it to the duties of 
Christianity. 

The whole law hangs on this, to love God and my 
neighbour, and if I love the one I shall love the other: 
but if I love not him whom I have seen, how can I love 
him whom I have not seen ? Now, my neighbor is not 
he who does me benign actions, for such the wovst of 
sinners love and regard, but every one of the human 
race round about me.— Whatsoever they do to me it 
cannot Loose a relation that is indisso'-vab'.e. \V en 
they defame me, I must speak well of them; whea 
N2 



150 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

they|revile me, I must intreat. Though they would starve 
me, I must feed their hunger; though they strip me, 
I must kindly clothe their nakedness ; though they 
curse, I must bless ; though they persecute, I must 
pray ; and though they rise up in war against me, yet 
when they yield themselves prisoners, and so become 
suppliants for mercy, I must not slay them, but pre- 
serve them alive, protect them, pour oil into their 
wounds, and supply their necessities. Yet this univer- 
sal forgiveness is not, by a too extensive clemency, to 
oppose the exercise of justice in respect of murderers, 
nor infringe the moral law with regard to those that 
should die. But, alas ! instead of being in danger of 
erring on this, I am on the opposite extreme ; for while 
I should forgive what they do against me, and pray for 
forgiveness of that whereby they have sinned against 
God, I neither forgive them myself, nor seek forgive- 
ness from heaven to them. 

Now, if I should thus behave with the men of the 
world, how should I behave with the saints, who are 
the excellent ones of the earth ? However they may deal 
with me in this world, that cannot loose the tie, or dis- 
solve the brotherhood, which is firm in him of whom 
the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Can a 
trivial difference break a bond that is firmer than flesh 
and blood ? They can never much harm me m worldly 
things, who are for Christ in spiritual ; and though the 
old man between us should fall out, yet the new man 
shall ever be friends. If the contention between cor- 
ruption and corruption be so sharp, that conversation 
for a time is broken off, yet I shall talk with them in my 
love, and embrace them in mine affection ; and we will 
only esteem one another like friends separated for a 
time, who will have greater joy at meeting. Here we 
are in the body, and therefore should bear one another's 
burdens. We cannot live like angels in this imperfect 
state ; why then should I catch like a serpent at the fail- 
ings «f others ? Will the hand refuse to feed the mouth, 
because the foot has stumbled ? Is it comely for the 
members of one body to fall a-jarring with one another ? 
Is it comely for one to cast off some Christian duties, 
because another Christian has some failings ? Would to 
God all the world were the friends of Christ, though 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS^ M* 

they were my foes ; then should I love them, and de- 
light in them : for when the sanctified ones are all as- 
sembled before the throne, there eternal harmony shall 
reign, concord and amity prevail ; there differences 
shall be swallowed up in the divine overflowings of 
eternal love. Why then, on any account, should my 
affection be cold towards them, towards whom it shall 
glow for ever, when they are arrayed with the divine 
likeness of the Son of God ? Let me therefore bury all 
my injuries in the deepest oblivion, be reconciled to my 
friends, however they have dealt with me ; and if ever 
I remember any thing they have done amiss, let it be 
only to' magnify the goodness of God, who excels so far 
the best of creatures, and outdoes in sympathy and kind- 
ness the most tender-hearted friend, but not to dimin- 
ish my love of them who are still the excellent ones of 
the earth. 

Whether the difference be civil or religious, the 
time approaches, O s-aint ! when thou and I shall forget 
our sharp contests, as waters that flow away. When we 
meet on the heavenly Mount Zion, we shall meet as an- 
gels, and embrace as seraphim. 

When we put on the perfection of the triumphant 
state, we shall put off self, the narrow spirit, and un- 
charitable thought. In the lii/ut of glory we shall see 
eye to eye ; and as we are all united to Christ, being 
one with him who is one with the Father, so we shall 
be united to one another, being all one in him. Were 
not shame the daughter of sin, which therefore ceases 
when 3in is no more, as the stream when the fountain 
fails, surely we should blush that ever the thine and mine 
about perishing things should hinder us, who shall see 
the whole world in flames, from conversing about that 
after state, those new heavens and new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness, that perfect plenitude that re- 
mains lor both. Come then, and let us antedate eter- 
nity, by throwing differences of every kind away, and 
becoming one in harmony and peace. Let us crucify 
self, and the better part will re-unite. It is not strange 
that men of such passions should fall out, but it is 
strange that men of such expectations should live and 
die in a difference. Let it not, then, my soul, fail on 
on thy side. Forgive, forget, remember injuries no 



152 solitude sweetened; or, 

more than if they had never been done thee. Triumph 
in oblhion. Be valiant in conquering pride, wrath, and 
revenge. Expect not the concession on his side that 
has done thee wrong ; but do thou rather yield, and win 
him by thy gentle and Christian behaviour under thy 
injuries. Fix thine eye on that future tranquility which 
shall be enjoyed in heaven, and that will instruct thee 
how to guide thyself now. Anger rests only in the bo- 
som of fools. Entertain not a disposition of mind that 
thou wouldst gladly be quit of when going into eternity* 
Think little of thyself, and thou wilt not take it ill that 
others think the same. Strive for the highest degree of 
Christian purity, gospei-perfection, attainable below. 
Lift up thine eye to the other world, and in all things 
remember, prepare, and look out for the coming of the 
Lord, who will be the joy and peace of his people to 
eternity. 



MEDITATION LXXX. 

THE EXCELLENCY OF RELIGION. 

Under sail, March 4, 1759. 
The world may say as it will of religion, but it is 
only by it that the human mind is exalted, and men rise 
into angels. The pleasures of religion sweeten my 
acid griefs, and blunt my acute pains. In this I triumph 
over my troubles, defy mine enemies, and outrun my 
woes. Here I relish unseen realties, taste spiritual 
joys, and eat of the hidden manna. Here, in the char- 
iot of the covenant, seated in the promise, Elijah-like, 
I leave the whole creation, and wing to the inheritance 
above, where at once 1 am possessed of the divine plen- 
itude of the Eternal, bathe in life's crystal streams, and 
bask in his meridian ray: Where I shall drink, (and 
the time is not far distant,) the immortalizing draught, 
and eat the bread of life in the kingdom of God : where 
my raptured tongue shall join its anthem with the harp- 
ers round the throne, and never cease, and never tire : 
Where I shall see him who is altogether lovely, in the 
brightest displays of his glory, and hear the tenderest 
expressions of his everlasting lovej: Where I shall share 
of his excellences, participate of his divine nature, and 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 153 

put on his amazing similitude : Where I shall enjoy an 
ineffable union with my living Head, and know, in the 
largest meaning of the word, that " he that is joined to 
the Lord is one spirit :" Where communion between 
the well-beloved and his spouse shall be full and free, to 
the ecstasy of every power of the mind : Where I shall 
be allowed an access so near, that it $hall astonish me 
in my very approaches : Where I shall sit before his 
throne, walk with him in white, and in his temple speak 
of his glory : Where I shall launch out into the unfath- 
omable ocean of his infinite perfections, and be eternal- 
ly iost in the divine review : Where I shall no more be 
vexed with an evil heart of unbelief in departing from 
the living God, but have my soul immoveably fixed on 
the unchangeable God : Where my body in all its mem- 
bers, my soul in all her faculties, shall be holy and pure, 
and go unweariedly out on God : Where the least temp- 
tation shall not whisper in mine ear, nor the carnal 
speech, nor profaning tongue, (O happy days :) grate 
the sanctified organ, but loud encomiums to him that 
loved us, from all the hosts around the throne, convey 
the harmony of eternal song, to soothe my every power 
into the profoundest ecstasy, and to excite my song to 
confess his essential glories in sublimest anthems : 
Where I shall see the King eternal in his immaculate 
beauty, worship him without hypocrisy, serve him with- 
out wearying, behold him and not die, approach his 
throne without terror, know him, (being relieved from 
misapprehensions,) as he is, see him in all his great- 
ness, yet not, Daniel-like, be weakened, but strength- 
ened by the vision ; delight in him without slavish fear 5 
love him without reserve, and be like him without con- 
tradiction : Where I shall see him in his robes of state, 
in his essential glories, dwelling in very deed with men 3 
though the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and 
showing them his goings, his majestic steps in the 
highest sanctuary, tne holy of holies, and making all 
his goodness to pass eternally before their wondering, 
their adoring, their ravished eyes ! 

With such endearing prospects, such reviving expec- 
tations, as these, my soul is refreshed in religion. But 
what is on the other hand ? What have the irreligious, 
who relish none of these things, to expect, but gulphs 



154 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

of horror, pits of despair, seas of fire, oceans of ven- 
geance, chains of wrath, floods of indignation, unutter- 
able anguish, utter darkness, eternal torments, and 
such a scene of agonies as chills my thoughts. 



MEDITATION LXXXI. 

CHRIST, AND NONE BUT HE, SAT1SFIETH DESIRES. 

Under sail, March 7, 1759. 
There is a restless, a boundless desire in the mind 
of man for something which this world in all its glory 
is unable to bestow. This immortal appetite, this liv- 
ing desire, blinded mortals seek to gratify, some on 
honor, others on pleasure, some on riches, others on 
empire and glory ; and need we therefore be surprised 
that they are never satisfied ? Though I could trace my 
pedigree through illustrious heroes, and renowned 
kings, back to the first foundation of kingdoms, this 
would not furnish my soul with all it would desire. 
Though I had the knowledge of all the sons of men 
summed up in myself, so that the eastern magi and wis- 
est philosophers might come and learn at my feet, still 
my desire would have its void to fill. Though I had all 
magnificent titles, honorary epithets, aggrandizing dis- 
tinctions, and appellations of renown, even these would 
not fill the extensive blank. Though I had the uncon- 
trolled dominion of the whole universe devolved on me, 
so that my name were revered in every nation, statues 
set up to me in all lands, and my fame and glory echo- 
ed through the subject-kingdoms, still would my de- 
sires be making new demands. Though Arabia, as my 
possession, should present me all her fragrant gurrs, 
the Indies, as mine inheritance, amass for me their 
riches, and all kingdoms, as tributary, send me their 
productions.; though the earth should burst open all 
her silver veins and golden mines to enrich my treas- 
ures ; though my throne were of one pearl, and my 
crown of one diamond ; though my life-guards were 
kings, my menial servants princes, and my immediate 
subjects nobles ; though the daily guests of my table 
were thousands and ten thousands of honorable person- 
ages ; and though, for the entertainment of my table, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 155 

my flocks should cover every hill, my herds range over 
every flowery vale, and the fowls of every wing alight 
around my palace, while the fish of every fin came, 
when needed, spontaneously ashore ; though the foun- 
tains should flow with oil, the rivers stream with wine, 
and the forests drop honey ; yet my heart would not say, 
It is enough. Though perpetual summer should shine 
on the place of my habitation, and storms and tempests 
stand at a distance from my abode ; though, according 
to the philosopher's conceits, the worlds on the other 
side the sun should own my sceptre ; though the spark- 
ling stars, the glories of the higher firmament, that 
rise sphere above sphere innumerable, were added to 
my inheritance ; though I had the faculties of the first 
sons of light, the knowledge of an angel, and the pen- 
etration of a seraph ; there would still be something 
wanting, without which I could not be happy. Though 
my health were never attacked by sickness, but my fam- 
ily flourishing as the blooming flowers, my offspring 
numerous as the piles of grass that clothe the verdant 
plain, and never lessened by death ; and though in this 
happiness I should multiply my days as the eagle, and 
my years as the sand ; yet my desires would then be as 
far from being satisfied, as when I began to enjoy this 
shadowy, this imaginary all. 

Where, then, is this all-sufficient plenitude to be 
found ? or what is it that will satiate my immense de- 
sires ? A triune God reconciled in his own Son, and 
conveying himself in the promise to my faith, as- the 
spiritual riches, infinite plenitude, and eternal portion 
of my immortal soul. 

Ail the gathered parts of creation, knowledge, titles, 
honor, riches, renown, attendants, dependants, family, 
friends, connexion, dominion, health, longevity, and 
every other excellence, are but like a drop to my parch- 
ed soul, of which I could swallow many, and yet be al- 
together faint beneath the scorching beam. But Christ 
is an ocean of overflowing fulness. I stand on its shore, 
and am astonished; I look, jund in its boundless exten- 
sion lose myself; I possess, and am replenished that I 
can desire no more. What a divine plenitude is this 
divine one ! All things without Christ cannot give sat- 
isfaction : for Uulv without Christ ail things are noth- 



156 solitude sweetened; or, 

ing, but with him what seems next to nothing is more 
and better than the worldling's all things. Material 
things, however excellent, suit not, satisfy not the im- 
material ancKmmortal soul ; but in Christ there is some- 
thing that satiates, refreshes, and enraptures the be- 
lieving soul, even when my prospect is towards that 
tremendous day, when nature shall be set on flames ; 
or further still, towards eternity, where the creature 
dares not present itself as a proper portion for the soul. 
"" In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ;** 
and my desires are complete in him. I can go no fur- 
ther, I can wish no more than he has. Then, for the 
present, I am happier than the happiest worldling, hav- 
ing an heaven in possession, for " faith is the substance 
of things hoped ;" while an heaven of rapture and de- 
light, floods of ecstacy and bliss, are in reserve for me, 
to be bestowed at the general deal of glory to the sons 
of God. 



MEDITATION LXXXII. 

THE AGGRANDIZING VISIT. 

Mediterranean Sea, March 10, 1759. 

If a fellow-creature, who has gathered together 
ajiore riches than many of his acquaintance, or has at- 
tained to more honour, and has more high-sounding ti- 
tles than others, condescends, as they call it, to visit an 
inferior, or to admit an inferior to visit him, the whole 
neighbourhood is astonished, and the men that receive 
the compliment consider themselves as highly honour- 
ed by it. Yet what is this person with whose visit they 
are so delighted, but a worm of the earth, a grasshop- 
per, that crawls on the face of the ground ? As howev- 
er, infinite wisdom has divided the inhabitants of the 
world into different classes, distinctions, and orders, 
for a time, the sons of men are not to despise such a 
visit ; but as it is only for a time, the saints, the sons of 
God, are not to idolize it, or think that riches and hon- 
our are the channel through which the favour and love 
of God to his people is conveyed. 

But how stupid are the world, that never observe the 
great honour done to the saints, when the royal family 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 3 57 

of heaven makes them an abiding visit ! " Behold I 
stand at the door, and knock ; and if any man hear my 
voice, and open to me, 1 will come in to him, and will 
sup with him, and he with me." There the Creator 
and creature sit at one table 1 and God, to the astonish- 
ment of angels, is gone to be guest with men 1 Such 
a visit is to be contended for ; such a guest is to be re- 
ceived with open arms, and entertained with flowing 
love, like that of the spouse, who said, " While the 
King sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the 
smell thereof." Nor is the heavenly visit a transient 
one, like those among the sons of men ; for, says the 
glorious visitant, " If a man love me, my Father will 
love him, and we will come unto him, and make our 
abode with him." 

It is rnush to see a great person visit a poor man, 
more to see a king enter the homely roof, but most of 
all, if ever after the visit he were to keep his court at 
the humble cottage. Yet if it holds tru& that " where 
the king is, there is the court," surely%, is so here ; 
for, however meanly the saints think of themselves, 
(which, for many reasons, it well becomes them to do, 
though God deals kindly with them,) yet since the King 
and the King's Son, even the eternal, undivided family 
of heaven, dwells with them, there must be the life- 
guards of immortal angels, and thousands of fiery char- 
iots, to defend them from all dangers, to deliver them 
from all foes. How happy, then, are the saints of God ! 
how happy the select number, whom the world think 
so meanly of, and count so miserable ! 

But, again, great men may make a visit to poor crea^ 
tures without changing their condition. It will not 
make a poor man rich, that a rich man visits him, un- 
less he proves a liberal donor, or a generous benefactor 
also. Nor will it exait a subject, a slave to a throne, 
that a king comes to see him. But it is otherwise here : 
Heaven is always in the visit of the Most High ; and 
whatever the man has been before, he is assuredly an 
heir of glory, with whom God comes to dwell. For as 
by his Spirit he dwells in and with his people for eter- 
nity, so by faith here, and vision hereafter, they dwell 
in and with him for the same desirable term. O thea 
that the saints would think more highly of themselves, 
O 



158 SOLITUDE SWEETENEB ; OR, 

in living above the world, and its vanities, and in walk- 
ing like those whom the King Eternal honors with a 
visit ! Should any of their surly and ill-natured neigh- 
bors make them sad of heart, when the Lord of heaven 
and earth countenances them in so singular a manner ? 
Now, if it aggrandizes men, that the nobles of the 
earth visit them, and that great men take any notice of 
them, surely the saints are to me the most excellent of 
all men, with whom the God of glory condescends to 
dwell. But how shall I evidence that God dwells with 
me ? By walking like one who has been with Jesus, with 
an heavenly mien and divine carriage. Then, let the 
King of glory visit my heart, and I shall never seek to 
tread in the courts of kings. Let my conversation be 
in heaven, and I shall not care, though the great men 
of the world never converse with me. Between my soul 
and the throne let a daily correspondence be kept up, 
and I shall cheerfully live in the most complete retire- 
ment, and recluse solitude from all mankind. 



MEDITATION LXXXIII. 

CAUSES OF HUMILITY. 

Under sail, Streights^ March 15, 1759. 
As only in night-dreams I cross impassable rivers, 
climb tremendous precipices, or fiy in the open air ; so 
it is only in spiritual slumber that I mount on the im- 
aginary wing, climb the height of self-conceit, and 
stand on the precipice of pride. Were I truly awake, 
instead of being puffed up, I should tremble at my sit- 
uation. In truth, there is nothing either in the fortune, 
persons, or minds of the sons of men, that ought to 
make them proud. We need never be proud of riches ; 
for, besides the disquieting nature of them, we can 
never be possessed of so vast a sum, but we may die 
beggars ; nor of honour, for our glory may tarn into 
disgrace, and our character into reproach ; nor of off- 
spring, for death, like a lion, waits only the permissive 
nod to devour every one of them ; nor of strength, 
health, or beauty, for disease lies dormant in every part, 
ready to break out into the canker of corruption ; nor 
of any faculty of the mind, seeing our brightest wis- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 159 

dofti is but folly to God, yea, to angels ; and sickness 
can deprive us of the boasted possession, and render 
us objects of pity unto all. 

I see, then, that pride springs from blindness and 
ineonsideration ; but how surprising is this, that one 
who has his eyes open to the things of God should be 
guilty herein 1 Now, as spiritual things are more noble 
and more excellent than carnal things, so spiritual: 
pride is more abominable than carnal : for the saint, of 
ail men, should be most humble. Whence, then, these 
risings of heart ? whence this self-conceit, and high 
opinion of myself ? Is God good, and must I turn the 
grace of God into wantonness ? Surely, if ever I have 
cause to fear the sincerity of my graces, it is when I 
grow proud of them. Grace is an humble thing; it 
thinks meanly of all but Christ; it keeps an eye ever 
open to its own failings ; and though believingly bold, 
yet being conscious of its imperfection, it wears a blush 
before the throne. 

The reasons of my mental elevation are merely ima- 
ginary, but I have a thousand real causes of the pro- 
foundest humility. Where are all mycarnalthoughts,even 
in my solemn devotion ? Where are all my ambitious 
lustings, my unbelieving circumscribings of the power 
of God ? my misimprovement of judgments and of mer- 
cies ? my attachment to the things of time, and stu- 
pidity about the things of eternity ? my ignorance of 
God, and of things spiritual, heavenly, and divine ? 
Yea, besides all these, the daily iniquity of my heels 
may always keep me humble. 

Pride may advance for its ill-supported plea, that one 
is useful in his day and generation? for the support of 
religion, and suppression of vice, and that he has ex- 
erted his brightest talents that way, perhaps suffered 
persecution, or been in danger of martyrdom. Bui, 
say, my soul, if a king shall send a nobleman as his 
ambassadar abroad, maintaining him according to his 
dignity, will he think himself obliged to that honorary 
servant? No; he will rather think him obliged to give 
his sovereign an account of the trust committed to him* 
and answerable at his peril if any thing is done against 
the honor of his crown. How, then, are the saints of 
God 3 ignorant, that to whom God is pleased to {jive 



160 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

much of them he will require the more ? Surely the 
saint in a private capacity, who knows only Christ and 
him crucified, and is neither qualified for, nor called 
to public work, but lives a life of faith upon the un- 
seen Son of God, is in a mere happy state than many 
apprehend. For when the King Eternal comes from a 
far country, he will call for, and count with those to 
whom he intrusted talents ; and though he is pleased 
with four from him who got but two, yet he will ex- 
pect ten from him who received five. This maybe a 
balancing thought to the learned rabbies, with their 
shining talents ; to the minister of justice, and minis- 
ter of the gospel, in their secular and spiritual trusts, 
that they have their account to make, both as private 
Christians and as public persons. But, my soul, thy 
very situation, (for thou art yet on enchanted ground.) 
may keep thee humble. Though thou wert spotless as 
a seraph, yet that flood of iniquity that swells around 
thee may keep thee humble ; but though thou wert in the 
midst of a paradise of innocence, yet there is such a 
world of wickedness within thee, as might banish eve- 
ry spark of pride for ever. And when these conside- 
rations fail, and pride again begins to appear, the very 
appearance may plunge thee into the profoundest abyss 
of humility and self-loathing, ou;. of which thou shouldst 
never rise, till raised to the perfection of the sons of 
God. 



MEDITATION LXXXIV. 

HARMONY IN GOI)'s PROCEDURE WITH THE CHURCH, 

BOTH OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. 

Leghorn, March 31, 1759. 
Wonderful art thou, O Lord 1 and stupendous are 
thy ways. The harmony that prevails, and the giory 
that shines in all thy government fill every pious soul 
with adoration and wonder. All thy subjects approve 
of whatever the King does, and are surprised and pleas- 
ed at once. Let me cast together the first and last ages 
of the world, and compare his conduct with the church 
under the law, and under the gospel, and I shall find a 
beautiful correspondence and agreement in all his ways* 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 161 

When God would have a church to himself, he calls 
Abraham, and blesses him : so our Saviour, when he 
founded the New Testament church, called whom he 
chose, and blessed them with spiritual gifts and heav- 
enly graces. When God made promise to Abraham, 
that Messiah should spring from his posterity, circum- 
cision was instituted : and when the promised seed 
came into the world, baptism was brought into its place. 
At one great occurrence, when Israel was delivered 
from tyrannical Egypt, the passover was appointed : 
and at another greater event, when Jesus, to deliver 
the true Israel from the bondage of sin, was to suffer, 
the supper was instituted. The Old Testament church 
had an Egypt to leave, a land of bitter bondage : and 
we have the kingdom of darkness to come out of, a land 
of cruel slavery. The church of old was composed of 
twelve tribes : the Christian church is founded on the 
twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one, though few at 
their beginning, grew into a great nation : the other, 
though small at their commencement, spread through 
many nations. By miracles that was delivered, fed, and 
defended : by miracles the doctrines of this were dis- 
seminated and confirmed. That had a sea to pass thro' 
at its first escape : this had a flood of afflictions at its 
first appearance. The former was guided by the cloud 
and piiiar of his presence : the latter by his word and 
Spirit. The one had to go through a vast and howling 
desert: the other, to struggle through a world of sin, 
vanity, and vexation. That tabernacled in the wilder- 
ness forty years, and lacked nothing ; this has a place 
given her in the wilderness, where she is fed for many 
days. Manna was the bodily or natural food of the 
first : the true manna is the spiritual food of the last. A 
refreshful river out of the rock followed them ail the 
way : and to us, " that rock is Christ." To them the 
typical serpent was suspended on a pole, that whoso- 
ever was bitten by the fiery serpents might look and 
live : and we have the glorious antetype lifted up on 
the loftier pole of the gospel, that we may behold and 
be healed of all the wounds given by Satan, the old 
serpent. They had their feasts and solemnities : we 
have ours. The Jews, after all their toils and pilgri- 
mages, subdued the heath n nations ; the first founders 
O 2 



■ 

i62 solitude sweetened; ok, 

of Christianity, after all their trials and persecutions, 
subdued Paganism itself, and made idolatrous nations 
submit to the truths of the gospel. When the Jews 
were settled, and in a flourishing condition, Jeshurun 
waxed fat, and kicked, yea, did worse than the heathen 
that were around them : so, after the Christian church 
enjoyed rest and tranquility, they turned to do worse 
than the unconverted nations around them. When Is- 
rael fell from the worship of the true God into idolatry, 
Babylon was the scourge that brought the church into 
captivity and bondage : so, when idolatry sprang up in 
the church of Christ, an apostatizing Rome, bloody 
Babylon, that great city, which reigneth over the kings 
of the earth, became the cruel oppressor of the church 
of the faithful. And as the destruction of ancient Bab- 
ylon preceded the church's delivery : so the destruction 
of spiritual or mystical Babylon, (for the time ap- 
proaches when she shall be cast as a mill-stone into the 
sea, to arise no more,) shall precede and promote the 
church's enlargement. As the Jewish deliverance was 
by a temporal Messiah, a Cyrus : so the Christian lib- 
eration is by the heavenly Messiah, the Saviour of the 
world, who shall destroy the man of sin by the breath 
of his mouth, and by the brightness of his coming. 
As our Saviour's first coming was the fulfilment of the 
prophecies, and finished the Oid Testament dispensa- 
tion : so the second coming of our incarnate God shall 
be the fulfilment of the promises, and finish the New- 
Testament dispensation. His first coming was as a Sa- 
viour, to take away the sin of the world : but his second 
appearance shall be as a judge, to condemn the sinners, 
acquit the saints, and carry them to heaven. Hasten, 
then, this day of glory, when all things shall be accom- 
plished, to the entire satisfaction of every saint, and 
to the bright display of every divine, every adorable 
perfection. 

MEDITATION LXXXV. 

A PLEASANT CONSIDERATION. 

Leghorn, April 1, 1759. 
Theke is one consideration that may make me en- 
dure affliction with fortitude, and triumph in my trou- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. i 63 

fcle, which is, That what I endure to-day, I shall not feel 
to-morrow. Every sip of affliction lessens the bitter 
cup that is put into my hand, which contains its given 
quantity, and is not always kept full ; so the more fre- 
quent, or the more largely, I drink at a time, the less 
remains for me, and some time or other I must drink it 
all, and glut down the last drop in the expiring pang. 
I cannot weep over a parent dying twice, nor can I 
twice attend the funeral of a friend. I cannot have the 
shocking sight of my dearest relative struggling in the 
jaws of death a second time. Hcid I a numerous off- 
spring, I might bury all the tender little ones once, but 
could not dissolve at their funeral again and again. 
The afflictions I feel to-day, I shall feel again no more 
for ever ; that is, in their first onset, though they may 
follow up and repeat their stroke for many days. 

Though the shower be heavy on me, yet, to my com- 
fort, the clouds shall not return after the rain, to fall in 
other showers. And though clouds and darkness, tem- 
pest and storm, should fill my sky all the days of my life, 
yet after death my heaven shall brighten, and be obscur- 
ed no more. My troubles diminish in the enduring, but 
my consolations are of another nature ; they are a flow- 
ing spring, at which I may daily drink, and still they 
overflow. Affliction is like the foam of a river, that 
perishes as we pass over, and can be found no more ; 
but the divine comforts are like Israel's stream in the 
wilderness that followed them all the way. The present 
loss of dearest relatives, which brings most pungent 
sorrow, would cease, were I assured that in a few years 
they were to rise again. Then, should it not cease, 
when I reflect on the certainty of enjoying my relations 
where spiritual friendship is screwed up to subiime 
heights, never known below, and that to endure for ev- 
er? I look a little fuither and my afflictions are no 
more ; 1 look a little furtner, and infinite consolations 
are mine for evermore. Why, then, should I suffer 
much from any grief that passes, never to return, when 
pure joy, to comfort me, with mighty strides approach- 
es; never to remove or pass away ? 



164 solitude sweetened; or, 

MEDITATION LXXXVI. 

CRUCIFIXION. 

Leghorn, Jfiril S, 1759. 
There is a reciprocal crucifixion which I should de- 
sire and seek after ; first, that the world may be cruci- 
fied unto me ; and, secondly, that 1 may be crucified 
unto the world. This is a noble figure representing 
the Christians' full and free disentanglement from the 
world. To break the connexion, and cut asunder the 
bands between two persons of the closest friendship* 
sameness of sentiment, and oneness of interest, it is 
not enough that cne party be crucified, for the other 
may still have affections and feelings after the mangled, 
though once amiable companion; but when both are 
crucified, all bonds are broken, and all ties are eternal- 
ly dissolved. When one becomes noxious to society, 
an enemy to the commonwealth, and a rebel against 
just authority, then he merits such an ignominious 
death as crucifixion. Well, then, the world is an ene- 
my to the life divine, noxious to the welfare of my soul, 
and a rebel against the authority of Heaven. There- 
fore I should earnestly seek to have it crucified to my 
affections, and my affections to it v When a person is 
crucified, his friends need expect no favour from him, 
and his foes need fear no harm at his hand. So, if the 
world be crucified to me, I shall neither court its 
smiles, nor fear its frowns, I shall expect nothing, and 
I shall never be disappointed ; I shall dread nothing, and 
I shall never be in danger. He that would win heaven 
must crucify the world ; for while the work! lives in the 
affections, it will always roll itself between the soul 
and heaven. Now, what a mighty mountain, what a 
steep ascent is this, the sad experience of unhappy 
thousands can tell, who never could climb over the ter- 
restrial globe to the heavenly land; but, intoxicated 
with pleasures, choaked with cares, and crushed with 
the ponderous mass, sink down to endless wo ! Again, 
as a crucified man, whose extremities are bored through, 
and whose body is besmeared with blood, and his coun- 
tenance disfigured in death, is a very moving spectacle 
to every feeling beholder ; so the world, crucified to 
the believing soul, will appear vain and empty, vile and 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 165 

abominable, and loathsome for the fond embraces of 
mental affection. And as a dead body soon becomes 
stinking carrion, so a crucified world, in the nostrils of 
a renewed soul, can send nothing up but an ill savour. 
All its perishing pleasures, which are rich perfumes to 
carnal minds, will be but like open graves to gracious 
souls. Finally I shall be an immense gainer by this 
double crucifixion ; for as no man will hoard up human 
skulls, bones, and putrefying carcasses, for a treasure ; 
so the world, thus crucified, and ail its vanities, shaii 
be the object of my deepest contempt and loathing ; 
while things spiritual, heavenly, and divine, shall share 
my whole esteem, and enrich my soul for eternity it- 
self. 



MEDITATION LXXXVII. 

ALL GOD'S WAYS EQUAL. 

Under sail, Jfiril 19, 175$. 

This is a truth at all times, and in all circumstances, 
to be acknowledged, that all God's ways are equal. 
Yea, they must be so, seeing he is infinite in his wis- 
dom, excellent in counsel, free in his decrees, inde- 
pendent in his procedure, and holy in all his works. 
When Adam was in a state of innocency, all God's ways 
were equal in his eyes, and, admiring the wisdom of 
the Creator, he gave names to all the beasts according 
to their nature ; hereby showing his own wisdom, with- 
out quarrelling at the size, shape, or end of their be- 
ing. But no sooner did he fall from God, and become 
unequal in his way, than he complains, even in the face 
of God, that his ways were not equal. " The woman 
whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the 
tree, and I did eat." 

Such, alas ! is the language of my complaining at the 
dispensations of Providence. If ad verse, I dare even go so 
far as to wonder how or why God deals so and so with me, 
so and so with his people. And because my unequal soul, 
that is set at war with itself by sin, cannot fathom his 
ways which as far transcend my conceptions, as the 
heavens transcend the earth, I anon conclude them un- 
equal, Ah I foolish, vain conceit ; can any thing be 



166 SOLITUDE SWEETENED : 

crooked in the Eternal mind ? Can any action deviate 
from the standard of equity in the Judge of all the 
earth I Can he be at variance with himself, who is har- 
mony and unity ? Could I glance the glorious plan in 
the infinite mind, I should fall down astonished, and 
confess, " He hath done all things well." His wisdom 
is the same, though I cannot comprehend it ; his equi- 
ty is the same, though I cannot perceive it ; and his 
kind design the same, though I shouid not believe it. 
Although, in the death of my dearest relations, or dis- 
tress of any kind, I cannot learn why Heaven deals so 
and so, and why the time, the place and circumstances 
are such and such ; yet 1 may be assured, that there is 
a divine eqality in the spotless procedure ; for he will 
never depart from the rule of rectitude to afflict his peo- 
ple. 

But, again, what condescension is it in God, to make 
his people see on this side death the equality of his do- 
ings, so that they cry out, " Now I know that thou hast 
afflicted me in faithfulness ; r»nd it is good for me that 
I have been afflicted." Yet, what though such a pros- 
pect should be reserved to the day of revelations, when 
the vail shall be taken down, and all the ways of God 
shown to his people ? It is enough that He does it, who 
is equal in ali his ways, plenteous in justice, and su- 
perabundant in goodness. And though I know not the 
meaning of present dispensations, yet it ought to satis- 
fy me, that he who sends them is not only the Governor, 
among the nations, but the Shepherd of his people, and 
perfects what concerns his saints. 



MEDITATION LXXXVIII. 

SELF-FLATTERERS. 

Saicing near Sardinia, jifiril 23, 1759. 
i; The transgression of the wicked saith within my 
heart, that there is no fear of God before their eyes ;" 
yet they flatter themselves with false hopes, that all shall 
be well with them, a till their iniquity be found to be 
hateful" by the tremendous Judge in the decisive day. 

The most flagitious persons flatter themselves, thai 
they are not in so bad a state but that they may be sav- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIOXS. 1 67 

ed. True ; salvation is offered to the chief of sinners. 
But then they must be saved from sin, but cannot be 
saved in sin ; which is the error here. Some conceive 
such a notion of mercy as would destroy the other at- 
tributes ; as if God should trample on his holiness, 
truth, and justice, to exalt his mercy in saving a sinner, 
or in pardoning sin without any satisfaction. But this 
is repugnant to what he himself has declared. Others 
flatter themselves, that as God is just and merciful, he 
could never make so many rational creatures to be 
damned. Yet they refuse the living way God has poin- 
ted out, by which they must be saved. Others would 
fain believe that God will never condemn them for com- 
mitting some sins, which, say they, are implanted in 
their nature ; and thus (O horrid blasphemy !) they 
make the Author of their being the author of sin. But 
God planted man at first wholly a right seed, though 
he be now turned into the degenerate plant of a strange 
vine. Others, again, there are, that through a pious 
education, common convictions, knowledge of the truth, 
and such like, are convinced that their present course 
of life is sinful and dangerous, but flatter themselves 
that all shall yet be well ; for, some years hence, when 
they have wearied themselves in sinning, they will 
amend their lives, repent, and turn to God ; and in this 
they promise themselves success, since God never re- 
fuses the penitent. Thus they set themselves above 
God, making themselves Lords of their own time, and 
promising themselves years to come, who cannot boast 
of to-morrow ; and proprietors of divine grace, in think- 
ing they can repent at the period of their own appoint- 
ment. But such fair promises to their own conscience, 
who dare delay to an uncertain futurity so momentous a 
matter, which claims to be chief in our concern, and 
to be done with ail diligence, are the worst performers 
in the world. Moreover, mournful experience tells us, 
that those who reserve their youthful sins to be repent- 
ed of in old age, often, alas ! too often, go on as they 
began, and die as they have lived. Again., there are 
some that conclude theirs an happy situation, because 
they are just between man and roan, and upright in their 
dealings : They do no man an injury? they speak evil of 
no man ; but are friendly-hearted and frank-handed to 



166 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

all. But they know nothing of living a life of faith on 
the Son of God. Again, there are others, who, because 
they have given up the grosser follies, extravagances, 
and excessess, that were the game and the grave of 
their youth, and live a sober, regular life, conclude 
themselves to be converts, and to bid fair for heaven, 
though they never felt one pang of the new birth, 
or knew what it was to be born again. Lastly, to 
name no more, there are some who account them- 
selves saints indeed, and would not question their state 
for any man, because they have been sober all their life 
long, have hated the grosser acts of wickedness, com- 
mend religion, and religious persons, and have a form 
of godliness ; but they have never ueen the necessity 
of being divorced from the law, and denied to their 
best actions, as well as their worst deeds, with respect 
to salvation ; and, however fair their character may be, 
they know nothing of union to, and cummunion with, 
the Son of God. Therefore they are dead while they 
live, dead before God, though alive in their own opin- 
ion, and in the opinion of the world. Now, how fatal 
such self-flattery is, is evident ; yet how full is the 
Christian world thereof! May their eyes be opened to 
see their danger, and their hearts persuaded to embrace 
the Saviour ! 



MEDITATION LXXXIX. 

THE HEAVENLY VISION ASSIMILATING. 

April 29, 1759. 

There are a thousand unfathomable depths in divine 
love. Who can open the everlasting magazines, or look 
into these unseen glories ? And this is not least to be 
admired, that ever the worms and potsherds of the 
earth should be admitted into the visions of God. Here 
we see something of. him, though darkly, his back-part 
being only presented to view, and even of that we have 
an imperfect glance ; but in the world to come, the 
saints shall see him as he is, and thereby be happy above 
their highest hope, beyond their most extensive faith. 

Now, how astonishing that the saints should be ad- 
mitted into the perfect visions of God ! and how en- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 169 

trancing that this vision should so assimilate them to 
him, that the soul, accustomed to unremitting longings 
below for this crowning bliss, shall remain eternally 
satisfied with her divine conformity to God ! How, then, 
of consequence, must the saints shine in glory, since 
their conformity is not to an imperfect vision, but first, 
they see him as he is, (and what that is, who can tell ?) 
and then, according to this clear sight, is their assim- 
ilation to him. If here there be such an excellence in 
the saints, from the imperfect views of the glory of God 
in the face of Jesus; what must it be where the dark- 
ness is past, and the true light shineth ? Surely it may 
be said of the saints in that state, u Ye are gods, and 
all sons of the highest." Nor need we wonder that John 
had almost worshipped a fellow-saint, who shone with 
so much amazing glory. This assimilation is in part 
begun below ; for " we all, with unveiled face, behold- 
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed, or 
transformed^ into the same image, from glory to glory/* 
And it is perfected above, when the whole soul is assim- 
ilated, as far as finite can receive of communicable per- 
fection, to him who is the Father of spirits. If a bro- 
ken spirit be a burden here that cannot be borne, surely 
the harmony that shall arise from a sense that all the 
powers of the soul have put on the divine likeness, shall 
be ineffably sweet. Thus the whole family of heaven 
shall have one appearance, and prove themselves to be 
of one Father; and, being like their elder Brother, shall 
look like the children of a King. 

Briefly, then, this blessed similitude to God consists, 
l. In being holy, as he is holy. 2. In knowing all 
things to their satisfaction, as God in his infinite knowU 
edge rests satisfied. 3. In willing, through the per- 
fection of holiness, nothing but what is goo4 ; as God, 
through the perfection of his divine nature, can will 
nothing but what is holy. 4. In being happy in their 
condition, and ravished with their felicity in God ; as 
God is supremely and eternally happy in himself. 5. Li 
never being fatigued; they rest not day nor night, and 
yet are never weary; as the Creator of the ends of the 
earth neither faint eth nor is weary. 6. In being made 
kings and priests to God and to the Lamb, and reigning 
with him for ever ; as God sits King for ever, and of his 

P 



170 solitude sweetened; ox, 

government there is no end. And, lastly , In being fix- 
ed in their supreme felicity, above the fear of change, 
or end ; as God is from everlasting to everlasting God. 
How complete must their happiness be, who possess 
God in all his plenitude, in all his perfections, and are 
like him in his communicable glory ! 

There is some difference now betwixt the saint and 
6inner, though both are in houses of clay ; but how vast 
will it be then, when the one shall be all deformity and 
darkness, the other all comeliness and glory 1 For to 
these he shall be revealed in the nearest and most na- 
ked views, in the face of Jesus ; but hid from those in 
the darkest and obscurest manner for ever, when " they 
shall be banished from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power for ever." This is the ex- 
cellency of religion above reason, that it reveals God 
as he is ! this is the happiness of the saints above sin- 
ners, that they see something of God now, and are 
somewhat like him, though imperfectly ; and this is the 
privilege of all saints, that, like Moses, they may seek 
after, and receive repeated views of his glory. But the 
crowning vision is reserved for eternity, when u ire 
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." 



MEDITATION XC. 

STILL DESCRIPTIONS FALL SHORT OF GLORY. 

April 30, 1759. 
Oh ! what must that happiness be that is laid up ou 
high ! that glory that is reserved to be revealed ! When 
God sets forth the bliss above, it is by metaphors, fig- 
ures, and shadows, adapted to our shallow conceptions. 
Thus, as God himself is said to have hands, to point 
out his power, eyes, to show his omnisciency, and such 
like condescensions ; so the glory above is set out to us 
by the most excellent things that come within our ken, 
as kingdoms, crowns, sceptres, gold, precious stones, 
pearls^ anthems, life, health, liberty, light, endless 
day, perpetual summer and eternal autumn. But how 
dull are golden harps to the rapture of celestial song 1 
How dim are streets of gold to the paved walks of glo- 
ry 1 what are the reflections of clearest crystal, to the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 171 

bright effulgence of unclouded glories ! what the lan- 
guid sparklings of all the precious gems, to the noon- 
day blaze of uncreated perfections I what are the ap- 
ples of paradise, to that spiritual repast on divinity it- 
self, which the saints enjoy above ! what is a tree plan- 
ted on either side a stream," to him who overshadows 
all his chosen ones ! or twelve kinds of fruits yielded 
every month, to the innumerable blessings of divine 
love ! what is a river to him who overflowr eternity, 
fills immensity, and is the plenitude of every ransom- 
ed soul I in one word, what are all things to God ! Can 
the creature set forth the enjoyment of the Fountain of 
being? 

O happy period ! when I shall plunge into the infin- 
ity of thine excellences, and, to mine eternal gain^ be 
lost in the immensity of thy glory ! and enjoy God in a 
manner that the noblest metaphors never can set forth, 
that the most exalted description never can exhibit, nor 
the most enlarged conception conceive. In view of this 
glory, unintelligibly great, let me prepare, and in hope* 
of it rest till its desirable revelation, 

MEDITATION XCI. 

SAINTS HONOURABLE. 

Undersoil, May 1, 1759. 

Among the failings with which the saints are charge- 
able, surely this is one : Too mean apprehensions of 
their own greatness, though in their greatness the lov& 
of God is exalted. The poor man who has many trou- 
bles every day to combat with, and is subjected per- 
haps to daily indigence, would think it presumption hi 
him to believe that there were orders given in the court 
of heaven concerning him by name, that necessary sup- 
ply should be sure to him ; and that no less than an* 
gels, who attend the throne, were commissioned to se- 
cure his safety ! But since God's eternal Son conde- 
scended to come to minister to the sons of men, a and 
give his life a ransom for many," it well becomes the 
brightest of the angelic hosts to minister unto the heirs- 
of salvation. 

Truly, O saint ! a serious consideration of thine hifck 






172 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OK, 

estate, (for " since thou wast precious in his sight, thot; 
hast been honourable,") ought not to puff up thy mind 
with pride, but to fill thine heart with holy admiration 
and wonder, and to swell thy soul with ecstacy and love I 
The men of the world may scorn thy mean cottage, but 
had they but one glance o'f the angelic guards that do 
duty there, they would conclude it to be the palace of a 
king, or the gate of heaven. Elisha's servant was of 
the same mind with the world ; he thought his master 
was an helpless, though a holy man : 4i Alas ! my mas- 
ter, how shall we do I we are undone, for we have no 
power to withstand the Syrian army/* But, anon, he 
sees the mountain shining around them with celestial 
guards, and covered with the flaming chariots of the 
King of glory. Now, O saint ! Elisha's God is thy 
God, and the standing forces of eternity are still the 
same, being truly the immortal legion ; yea, their em- 
ployment is also the same, till all the saints are brought 
safe to glory. 

When on a journey thou puttest up at an inn, thou 
mayest be obliged to take the worst room, while oth- 
ers, who have a grand retinue, and numerous attend- 
ants, have the best lodgings ; but what thinkest thou of 
this, that not only angels should be thy guards, but the 
Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods ! should him- 
self tfe thy watchman ? How secure, then, seeing thine 
omnipotent Guardian neither slumbers nor sleeps ! If, 
under thy earthly sovereign, thou art called to the mar- 
tial plain, thou mayst pitch thy tent in the open field, 
while the general of the army fixes his splendid pavil- 
ion in the centre, yet only men encamp around him; 
but wherever xhou pitchest, " the angel of the Lord en- 
campeth round about thee." What, then, should thy 
conduct be, O thou art highly favoured of the Lord 1 
Thou shouldst study holiness in the highest degree, 
in gratitude to him wiio deals so with thee ; and 
humility, that thou mayest never forget thyself, and so 
cease to wonder at the heavenly condescension ' Is it 
thy part O saint ! when so honoured, so defended by 
the King, to hold disloyal conferences with his impla- 
cable enemies, self, sin, Satan, against whom the « Lord 
hath sworn that he will have war for ever ?" When he, 
in redeeming grace, has raised thee up to heaven, wilt 



MISCELLANEOUS MEMTATIOXS. lft£ 

thou through sin debase thyself to hell ? Now, O saint I 
thou art no less happy, and thy condition no less grand 
than this. Live, then, above the world and its vanities 
with a greatness of soul that evidences thy divine de- 
scent, till the day come, in which thou shalt be exalted 
to that glory, of which thou art now an expectant, can- 
didate, and heir. 



MEDITATION XCII. 

MERCIES, THOUGH APPARENTLY DELAYED, COME AT 
THE APPOINTED TIME. 

Alicant Bay, May 2. 1759. 
How is it that thoughts rise in my mind about the 
promise proving abortive I or how can I conclude that 
the delays of Providence are ill-timed and unkind ? Yet 
God, notwithstanding all the risings of unbelief in my 
breast, is punctual to a day. Hence says Moses, that 
God brought forth the children of Israel in the " self- 
same day" that he had promised, and that their sojourn- 
ing in the land of Egypt was completely expired. But 
what a groaning time did the poor Israelites undergo! 
Their service was- with rigour, their bondage was bit- 
ter, their oppression unsupportabie, and the cruelty of 
their foes had arrived at that infernal pitch, as to plunge 
their helpless males into the river I At length, in this 
melancholy time Moses was bom ; but this sad season 
was spun out till he was forty years old, before he hint- 
ed to his brethren that he it was that should deliver 
them. Yet this faint dawn of relief immediately dis- 
appears ; Moses is no more to be seen or heard of in 
all the land of Egypt, and the night of sore affliction is 
protracted for another forty years; Now, what cogita- 
tions of heart, may I suppose, struggled all this time 
in the breasts of Jacob's sons, in the breast of Moses ! 
Well he knew in what deplorable circumstances he 
had left his brethren, nor knew he how their bondage 
might be increased in his absence; yet, in the account - 
of their glorious deliverance, he confesses that God 
was a God of truth, and that, however he seemed ta 
delay, still his suffering people wer^ brought forth from, 



174, SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; G», 

the iron furnace at the appointed time, and not a day la- 
ter than the promise. 

Have I, then, any reason to complain of days and 
months of delay ? No ; God has appointed a set time, 
and at the set time will remember me ; and it well be- 
comes me, though the time should seem long in my 
view, to wait with patience for it. God has in all ages 
so dealt with his people for the exercise of their gra- 
ces : And these trials, like the instruments of the hus- 
bandman, breaking up the fallow-ground of their heart, 
make them bring forth a plenteous crop of precious 
fruits, whence accrues an increase of glory to God, and 
unspeakable joy to their own souls, through the ages of 
eternity ! and is not this more than all that can rise from 
the present and speedy performance of the promised 
blessing ? 

Then sit still, my soul, and calmly wait the end, won- 
dering more that justly-deserved judgments are not im- 
mediately executed against thee, than that expected 
blessings are for a while withheld* 



MEDITATION XCIII. 

THE WORLD DEEP-ROOTED IN THE AFFECTIONS. 

Sailing near Malaga, May 9, 1759. 
How often, when reading the history of the children 
of Israel going up out of Egypt, have I condemned 
their longing for the flesh-pots, and other things where- 
with they had been entertained in the land of their bon- 
dage, when they had Canaan before them ! But now I 
may turn from them, and leave my complaint upon my- 
self, since guiljty of the same sin. If my hopes are fix- 
ed in eternity, why take I pleasure in the things of 
time ! Will I by profession seek after immortality, yet 
practically pursue dying vanities ? O ! when shall the 
world cease to allure me, cease to find reception in my 
soul ? When shall the beautiful field, while I behold the 
better country, become as a barren wilderness to me ; 
and the fine flower garden, as the top of a rock that is 
neither plowed nor sown ? When shall honor be to me 
as disagreeable as the din and confusion of great cities, 
and fame as the tumultuous noise of an enraged meb. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 175 

when the most part know not wherefore they are come 
together ? When shall my well-informed judgment es- 
teem riches no better than wild brier, whose single 
flower a-top is attended with innumerable prickles 
round about below r When shall I possess unenvied 
solitude, and retire into mine own breast, counting it 
an happiness neither much to know, or to be known, 
in a vain, a transitory world ? Can an oid man, who is 
half blind, and half deaf, be delighted with the harmo- 
ny of sounds, the neatness and richness of attire, and 
the frolicsome amusements of youth I and should not 
the growth of grace, (how sad my condition ! V give a 
greater disrelish to the pleesures of the world, than 
the decays of nature ? Henceforth may I use the world 
as not abusing either it or myself! How would it look 
in one sent express from his prince, on matters of the 
last importance, to sit down by the first pleasant grove 
he came to, and forget his dispatch, tili the night • d 
wrapt him up in darkness, when he could not pursue 
his journey ? So I am on the express of salvation, by 
order of the Prince of the kings of the earth, who has 
commanded me to run while 1 have the light, and work 
while I have the day ; not to qu ; t my pi igrim- staff, un- 
gird my loins, or forego my travelling posture, till got 
within the veil ; nor to let my affections sit down on any 
thing below, lest the shadows of the everlasting even- 
ing be stretched out, and thickest darkness cover me ! 
As men look on children, in ail their guy imaginations 
and sportive jollity, with pity and disdain, so should I 
look on the grandeur of the world, which is more so, in 
comparison of diviner glories, of subiimer bliss. 

But, when Israel came near the promised land, the 
pleasant inheritance, there was not one word of Egypt 
and all its dishes ; so, as a sign that I am drawing near 
the better country to inherit it for eternity, let the things 
of this world not once be named by me, as becomes an 
expectant of the vast reserve of love. O happy day I 
when all shall be tasteless and insipid but Christ ; when 
this struggle between my carnal desires and renewed 
affections, shall issue in complete victory over the crea- 
ture and its enchanting charmso 



*76 S0L1TUBE SWEBTENEB J OR, 

MEDITATION XCIV. 

TRUE RICHES* 

Gibraltar Mole, May 20, 1759. 

What, saint ! dost thou complain of poverty ? Dost 
thou cry out of want ? If thou art poor in any thing, it 
is in thy views and apprehensions of thine inheritance., . 
they are so shallow and confined. But, as God said to 
Abraham of his seed, so says he to thee of thy posses- 
sions, " See if thou canst count them all up," Know* 
est thou the measure of thine inheritance, or the breadth 
and boundary of thy kingdom ? Survey the midnight- 
sky, and see the sparkling orbs above, these are all 
thine own ; and if they can advantage thy soul, and 
bring about thy good, not one of them shall be With- 
held from thee, seeing thou art the King's son. Now, 
how rich art thou, if, as philosophers say, every twink- 
ling star be a sun to dependent orbs that form their sys- 
tem ? Canst thou, then, be cast down for a footbreadth 
of this world below I 

" But, Ohl" repliest thou, "you would not talk at 
such a rate, did you know my troubles. Heaven is con- 
scious that I am daily groaning under poverty and afflic- 
tion, and that my thoughts are divided and distracted, 
while fear of miseries at one time assails me, and at an- 
other time hope in his mercy composes my mind : While 
now I would lain have confidence in the promise, and 
then am all anxiety about the providence. Now, if it 
were as thou sayest, why is ail this befallen me ? why is 
it thus with me V 9 

What, saint I thinkest thou that the promises are il- 
lusive words, or that God speaks ironically to his peo- 
ple ? No, but with the sincerity of a true friend, with 
the affection of a tender father. It fares no otherwise 
with thee in all thy complaints, than with a young heir 
to a great estate, who is fed sparingly, and put under 
severer discipline than others who have not such great- 
expectations. He is not able to comprehend the mean- 
ing of such hard usage, till he grows up, and then he 
finds himself possessed of a regular appetite, a fine 
state of health, and a vigorous constitution, as well as 
©f an extensive inheritance, which gluttony and licen- 
tiousness in younger years might have destroyed. So 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATION'S, \77 

thou, O saint ! when grown up to the measure of a per- 
fect man in Christ Jesus, (for while in this world thou 
art but of yesterday, and knowest nothing,) thou shalt 
see the excellent use of afflictions, and the noble design 
of keeping thee at a poor table of uncreated comforts, 
lest the satisfying of thy carnal appetite had sent lean- 
ness into thy soul. Then all his ways shall be made 
plain, which must remain unriddled till the mystery of 
providence be opened up in the light of glory. All 
things, then, are yours; and the earth and the fulness 
thereof, sun. rnoon, and starry heavens, are but the 
least part of thy possession, who has a right to the bright 
and morning star of eternity, to the Creator of the ends 
of the earth, to God Almighty, as thy shield and ex- 
reeding great reward. 

How like the Possessor of heaven and earth art thou J 
for as this is his footstool, so the woman, (the church in 
all her members,) that is clothed with the sun, has the 
moon, (the earth,) under her feet ! Why, then, anx- 
ious about a possession on that which is not only God's 
footstool, but should be thine ? Wouldst thou appear in 
all thy state while in the desert, the land of thy pilgrim- 
age ; since the better country, where the King of glory 
has his royal pavilion and residence, lies before thee to 
be inherited ? Thine eyes may climb to the 'stars, and 
say, These are mine. But why terminate there ? Faith 
may rise higher, and claim him who counts their num- 
bers, and gives them all their names. O how at once 
thy possessions grow too vast to be described, and ex- 
tend infinitely on every hand ! God, in all his glorious 
perfections, reconciled in his Son, who is appointed 
heir of all things, is yours, and you are his! Why, 
then, be disquieted about dust and ashes, wind and van- 
ity, when the unseen realities of eternity are before 
you, and shall give the purest joy, and most refined 
pleasure in the eternal possession ? 



MEDITATION XCV. 

THE CASTING OF THE SCALES OR BALANCES. 

Gibraltar Mole, May 26, 1759. 
There is a real difference between the righteous and 
the wicked, for the one is the heir ©f bliss, the other 



178 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR 9 

the child of the curse. But O how is the appearance 
misrepresented and inverted in the eye of carnal men ' 
The wicked are accounted happy, and the saints the 
most miserable of all men. But let us fight the world- 
lings with their own weapons. The wicked, as the 
world continues not, (this they must all confess,) are 
travelling through the evening twilight of declining 
grandeur to the darkness of eternal night. But the 
saints, as the world to come, for which they wait and 
hope, is permanent, are marching through the grow- 
ing beams of morning light to the perpetual noon of 
glory. Truly, now-a-days, the wicked seem to have 
the right hand of the just, and their rod lies heavy on 
the back of the righteous ; but they shall be found on 
the left hand in the day when distinctions most avail, and 
over them shall the upright have dominion in the morn- 
ing. The one may go mourning, and pour out their 
complaint before God, while the others spend their days 
in mirth, and rejoice at the sound of the orgaa : but 
the sorrow of the one shall be turned into everlasting 
joy, while the songs of the other shall issue in eternal 
howiings. 

Great men weigh valuable in the balance of the world, 
while the saints are accounted as the offscouring of all 
things ; nevertheless, in the balance of the sanctuary^ 
when both are weighed, the sinner shall be found want- 
ing, but " the precious sons of Zion shall be compar- 
able to fine gold. 55 

Now, dare I calculate with the world, and call them 
happy whom the world counts happy ? Or, more daring 
still, dare I choose to be where happiness, sacred hap- 
piness, is not to be found ? However beautiful the ev- 
ening be, it is soon black night; but however cloudy 
the morning be, it is soon broad day. So it was with 
Dives, who, dragged from his luxurious table and flow- 
ing cups, is plunged into the lake, and lifts up his eyes 
amidst devouring flames, parched, and petitioning for 
one drop of water to cool his scorched tongue ; while 
Lazarus, fall of sores, and without attendance at the 
inhospitable gate, except the kindly dogs, is wafted by 
an heavenly band from all his sorrows, to the bosom of 
the friend of God, and set down to banquet richly at 
the table of eternal love. Surely, then, my choice shaU 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 179 

be to live in their humble, die in their hopeful) and rise 
to their happy condition. 



MEDITATION XCVI. 

AFFLICTION THJE COMMON LOT OF THE SAINTS* 

Gibraltar Mole, June 3, 1759. 

When I consider the conduct of Providence to- 
wards all his saints, I should rather be astonished that 
I am permitted to pass through the world not more 
chastised, than take it amiss that I am chastened, every 
morning. And surely, were I free from afflictions, 
whereof all are partakers, I might infer, that I were a 
bastard, not a son. Whatever be my affliction, the 
wisdom of him who sends it should make me embrace 
and bear it without a grudge. Though it springs not 
eut of the dust, nor comes at random, yet man is born 
to trouble as the sparks fly upward ; and even some of 
his favorite ones have, for wise ends, had the severest 
afflictions. The wisdom of God, however, in afflicting 
his people, is folly to the world, who would compute 
love and hatred by common providences ; and therefore 
they cry out, as the ignorant Jews of old, to the Cap- 
tain of our salvation, who himself was made perfect 
through suffering, " Let him deliver them, if he de- 
lighteth in them." 

Again, as the infinite goodness of God shines in send- 
ing afflictions, though the scales on mines eyes hinder 
me from seeing all their beauty, insomuch that I often 
wonder why it fares so and so with me, and would fain 
essay to swallow up all in submission and faith, believ- 
ing the veracity of the promise, that all things shall 
work together for good to them that are the called and 
chosenof God: I say, as his goodness appears in sending 
them, so the divine wisdom is conspicuous in their va- 
riety. Abraham, the friend of God, had atrial which 
w f ould have startled the whole world of believers. Isaac 
and Jacob, heirs of the same promise ; Moses the man, 
find Aaron the saint, of God ; Joshua and the Judges; 
Job, David, and his royal line ; Samuel and the proph- 
ets ; yea, the Lamb and his Apostles, had afflictions of 
every kind, in substance and estate, in relations and 



180 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OH, 

connexions, in name and character, in soul and body. 
Now, such has been the conduct of God these five thou- 
sand years with his church and people ; and had not 
this government of his house been both for his own glo- 
ry, and the good of his people, such a wise Father, of 
whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 
would by this time have changed the manner of his pro- 
cedure towards his own. But who can doubt the wisdom 
and goodness of his conduct, who considers, that thro' 
this discipline many thousands are gone to glory, and 
are this day happy in their joyful harvest from their 
weeping seed-time ? 

How happy is it for me that the world often gives me 
the slip, that I may forsake the world, and look more 
out for the better country : — That men often prove false 
to me, that I may rely only on the God of truth : — That 
wants beset me on every side, that I by faith may set 
myself down at the gate of heaven, and, in the prom- 
ise, and in his fulness, find a rich supply : — That death 
now and then cuts off a relation, that I may more remem- 
ber mine own end, the immortal world, and him who is 
the resurrection and the life. Affliction renders the 
creature tasteless, the world barren, and dispels the in- 
toxicating juice of carnal pleasures and sensual delights. 
It breaks the sleep of security, and awakens and rouses 
up to duties. Even the saints themselves are more fre- 
quent and fervent in their devotions under the rod of 
affliction ; and many in trouble visit the throne of grace, 
(dear throne i to which all have access,) and pour out 
a prayer when his chastening hand is upon them, who 
before were utter strangers both to the place and the 
employment. I verily believe the whole church of the 
first-born are children of the crosS, and have drunk of 
the cup of affliction, sweetened by Christ's drinking so 
largely of it. Now, would I go another way to heaven 
than the redeemed have trode in ? Would I walk Zion- 
wards out of the King's high-way, out of the covenant ? 
However much in the dark I may be about particular 
providences, and singular afflictions, till all things -are I 
cleared up above, yet, in general* I shall welcome what- 1 
ever may loose me from this world, and bring me near* 
£r God. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 181 

MEDITATION XCVII. 

THE GLORIOUS FRUITS OF SANCTIFIED AFFLICTION. 

June 4, 1759. 

Two things render affliction either easy or intolerable, 
to wit, its kind, and continuance. If it be ponderous 
and crushing, and withal continual ; this makes affliction 
break all the bones, and wound the very spirits. But 
when it is light and over in a moment, which is the case 
with all the afflictions that befal the sons of God, I won- 
der why or how I can complain. But how astonishing 
beyond expression must it be, that this light and transi- 
tory load of affliction should work for me a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory ! 

Truly I have no reason to cry out of my troubles and 
trials, since they work more good for me than now I 
can conceive. And little do I think, while grappling 
with my afflictions and fears, what they are procuring 
ibr me in the highest heavens ; God having so connect- 
ed the seed-time of tears with the harvest of glory, that 
they who sow weeping, shall reap with everlasting joy. 
Would I grudge to carry a stone for a day or two, if as- 
sured that when I laid it down, I should receive a crown 
of gold? Why, then, repine under my afflictions? 

But, again, what proportion is there between the 
cross and the crown, the trial and the triumph, the af- 
niction and the comfort, the burden of grief and the 
exceeding weight of glory ? No more than between 
the glorious Giver and glorified receiver. Here our 
afflictions own the creature as the instrument, and some- 
times have their origin in imagination ; here they are 
light, and they are transitory ; but the giory above is 
massy and weighty, is permanent and eternal, r.m\ is 
the immediate gift of God, neither by nor from the crea- 
ture. 

Moreover, affliction works for our good, even here : 
For, (I.) To the saints, it bears, as it were, its own re- 
ward in its bosom, yielding to all that are rightly exer- 
cised therewith, the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
It deadens the pleasures of sense, and gives the soul a 
relish for spiritual things ; yea, it divorces the soul from 
the creature, and draws it near to God. (2.) There is 
no proportion between all that can befal the saints in 

Q 



182 solitude sweetened; or, 

this state, and that joy wherewith they shall be comfort- 
ed in the better life. In none of the sons of men do all 
afflictions meet at one and the same time ; Job's case 
came nearest it, but at all times he had the exercise of 
his reason, and the testimony of a good conscience, with 
an invincible faith in God, which made him conquer even 
while he seemed, to fall. The afflictions, then, of saints, 
are verily light ; but their future glory is a weight fill- 
ing every power, replenishing every faculty, overflow- 
ing the whole soul, and satisfying every desire. Now, 
»all the sons of God, the heirs of glory, every heaven- 
gift, every blessing of love, every degree of felicity, 
every beam of glory, centers, meets, and rests forever. 
Therefore, there is no proportion between their suffer- 
ings and their consolation. (3.) Affliction is of no con- 
tinuance ; the apostle elegantly expresses it by a mo- 
ment, which of all times is the shortest. And indeed 
though the affliction were severe and very ponderous, 
yet this lightens it much, and that it is over and gone in 
a moment, no sooner felt than fled, to return no more ; 
but the exceeding weight of glory, to screw up their 
felicity to the highest degree, is also eternal. 

But some may think, How can afflirtion be thought 
either light, or but for a moment, since, for their part, 
it is all they can do to support under the pressure and 
weight of their many adversities ? And as to their be- 
ing over in a moment, they rather think with hcman, 
" that they are afflicted, and ready to die from their 
youth up;" or, with Asaph, that they are " plagued all 
the day long, and chastened every morning. 5 * 

But, as to the first, no afflictions befal the saints that 
can destroy their frame, though they may dissolve the 
union between soul and body. Yea, though the out- 
ward man be crushed, and seem to perish, yet it is to 
our advantage, for thereby the inward man is renewed 
day by day, and grows up in strength unto eternal glory. 
And this mitigation arises from the divine sympathy of 
him, who in all their afflictions is afflicted. Moreover, 
how often does the joy that God pours into the soul, in 
the time of affliction, overbalance and downweigh all 
the sorrow that arises from them. 

And, as to the second complaint, of continuance ; as 
a moment bears no proportion to one's life, so our 



Miscellaneous meditations. 183 

whole life bears no proportion to the eternity of glory 
which shall take place, when the hour-glass of time has 
not a sand left, and cannot be turned. A moment stays 
not, and when gone cannot be remembered ; for even 
millions put together make but a duration, which, when 
past, is only like a tale that is told. Now, life consists 
of so many moments, therefore a moment bears some 
proportion to our life, though very small ; but eternity 
is not composed of life-times or ages, therefore the 
whole life bears no proportion to eternity. That which 
endures but for a while may be divided into the smaL 
lest denomination, but what continues for ever cannor 
be broken down into numbers. Now, is it much to pass 
through the shallow stream of affliction, that can rise 
but to the ankles, in order to plunge into the pleasures 
of his right hand, which are a great river, even waters 
to swim in ? Can any child of heaven quarrel with the 
kindness of God, who makes light and momentary af- 
fliction work for them a far more exceeding and eternal 
W T eight of glory ? 

Take courage, then, my soul, and be strong; look 
into God's dealing with thee, for his ways can stand the 
strictest searches through them all, even in the afflict- 
ing hand, fatherly kindness and eternal love shine forth. 
Now I see what I never saw before, that afflictions sanc- 
tified are indulgences, and trials the special gifts oi 
Heaven. And I do not wonder that all the saints are, 
I say not punished, but privileged with them, of one 
kind or another ; since they here keep sin low, and for 
them accumulate eternal weights of glory in the other 
world. My not looking into the ways of divine wisdom, 
and to the extent of the promises, has made me have 
very odd thoughts of afflictions ; and, concluding them 
to be the signs of divine displeasure, I have been ready 
to question my interest in God, and difficulted how to 
understand the word of truth. But now I see, that 
though sometimes he sends afflictions to chastise his 
saints for sin, aad curb their carnal affections, (and how 
kind is it thereby to punish sin, and prepare them for 
glory, and glory for them !) yet, that at other times he 
sends them to improve the soul, and exercise every 
grace in his saints. Why, then, do not I, like the great 
apostle of old, glory in tribulation, which, where grace 



184 solitude sweetened; or, 

is in exercise, sets all the wheels of the soul in motion ; 
tribulation working patience ; patience, experience; and 
experience, hope ; and hope, being no way ashamed to 
confess her confidence in him who has shed his love 
abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost, gives a heaven- 
ly boldness. Should I then be disconsolate, because 
some fogs dwell on the eye-lids of everlasting morn, 
which, when the sun arises, shall never more be seen ? 
Should any shades in this early twilight give sorrow, 
which are to be swallowed up in the brightness of eter- 
nal noon ? A little patience, and I am past every one 
oT my troubles, and possessed of all the transports of 
perpetual day. 

Even from the vastness of my affliction and sorrow 
here, solid joy may rise ; for if affliction sometimes al- 
most crush me, and I am sometimes like to fail under 
it, ought I not to consider, that this weight of glory 
shall far, very far, exceed the present burden i Now, 
if the one be so much, how much more, infinitely much 
more, will the other be ! Yea, it shall be such, that 
were I not replenished with immortality, and upheld 
by the Most High, I should fall under the insupportable 
emanations of divine glory. But I shall be all might 
for that happy state, where, to my sweet experience, 
I shall learn, that my light afflictions, which was but 
for a moment, wrought for me a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory ! 



MEDITATION XCVT1I. 

COD his people's inheritance. 

Gibraltar Mole, June 6, 1759. 
The priests in Israel were allowed to approach nearer 
to God than others, and were enriched with many ex- 
cellent privileges; yet these favourite ones were to 
have no possession in the land. Was this because he 
loved them not like the other tribes, or would show 
himself ..nkind to his own ? No ; it was because he 
loved them extremely* and would give them no less 
than himself for their inheritance. Why, then, should 
it seem hard to me to have little or nothing in this 
world, who have such a possession as the Most High 
God, possessor of heaven and earth ? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 185 

But, replies repining Incredulity, " These priests 
were secured of the tythe, and a certain portion of their 
sacrifices ; now, had I only sufficient for an honest live- 
lihood, I would seek no more." Ah i wicked fears, 
impious doubts i Is it not in the power of the same. Lord 
to furnish two tables alike ? They fed at his altar, at 
the table of his offerings, that they might ever be pre- 
sent with him. Was not this kindness ? I feed at the 
table of his providence, that I may daily make my pray- 
er to him, " Give us this day our daily bread," and de- 
pend upon him. Is not this kindness ? Is not the one 
as sure as the other? A bad season made a thin har- 
vest, consequently the tythe was less. The provider 
is the same Lord, the promise is the same truth, and 
all things are still in the same hand. — Now, how agree- 
able and becoming is it, that such as are a peculiar 
people, a chosen nation, a royal priesthood, as all his 
saints are, should be deprived of these creature-enjoy- 
ments, which might deprive them of nobler privileges, 
and more spiritual possessions 1 It is the wisdom of , 
those that would dwell near God, to be divorced from 
the world ; but since this, in the greatness of our folly, 
is not our choice, it is good in God, in his infinite wis- 
dom, to confer such kindness on us, as it were against 
our will; thus keeping us empty-handed of worldly pos- 
sessions, that we may accept of himself, the better in- 
heritance. 

He that is not, though deprived of all things, not on- 
ly pleased, but transported with this promise, " I am 
thy possession, I am thine inheritance," has no notion 
of bliss, nor could the whole world bestowed on that 
man make him happy. Oh i consummate madness ! so 
to mistake between imaginary and real, shadowy and 
substantial, transient and eternal things 1 for this world 
at best, (the experience of ail mankind will prove it,) 
is but a common under the curse ; but the divine inher- 
itance contains fields of glory, paradises of bliss, riv- 
ers of life, oceans of love, scenes of pleasures, heavens 
of ecstacy, yea, in a word, the plenitude of God. 

Q 2 



MEDITATION XCIX. 

DISTANCE DIMINISHES VIEWS. 

Gibraltar Mole, June S, 1759. 

Things at a distance seem vastly less than what they 
really are. The lofty hill that affords a noble prospect 
at the foot, lessens so, while we recede from it, that in 
a little it seems no larger than a mole-hill, and then 
sinks out of sight. 

Now, how true does this hold of spiritual and eter- 
nal things ! What narrow notions and confined con- 
ceptions have we of the world to come ? Nothing but 
the eye of faith, through the telescope of revelation, 
can glance this after-state ; but how often do mists of 
ignorance darken the eye, and clouds of unbelief ob- 
scure the glass ! Hence the intuition is often interrupt- 
ed, and the view at best falls very far short of what it- 
shall be, when faith resigns to vision in the day of glory. 
What a perverse opinion have we of the celestial para- 
dise ! It is so distant from our sight and affections, that 
we are apt to think the garden of God no better than a 
barren desert, and that there is neither fruit nor flower 
in all the heavenly Eden. We think nothing of the 
hosannas of the higher house ; nothing of the howlings 
of the lowest hell. What unconcerned views have we 
of the wrath to come ! of the glory that shall be reveal- 
ed ! We dwell at such a distance from the throne of 
grace, that we are little benefitted by the healing 
beams ; and the throne of glory is so far distant, that 
we behold but little of the heavenly splendours. Alas ! 
like children who peep through the wrong end of the 
prospect-glass, we conceive a future world to be of no 
great moment, and we set death at such a distance, that 
it is almost out of sight ! But, were our glances rightly 
guided, we should believe the one to be all our concern, 
and behold the other as always at the door. The sun 
that lights the world, by his great distance appears to 
us only as a small globe of fire ; but, were he as near 
as the clouds, his vast bulk would make an august, an 
awful appearance ; and wherever we should roll our eye, 
it would be all one firmament of fire ! Even so, how lit- 
tle do we see of him who kindled up the sun, and light- 
ed all the stars ! Though he be not far from every one 



MISCELLANEOUS HESITATIONS. 18£ 

•f us, yet we see him not, who is all things in all ! But 
when our eye is spiritually enlightened, we shall see 
him in all things, in heaven above, and on earth be- 
neath ; in creation and providence ; in the scriptures of 
truth, and in the Son of his love ; in the heavenly hosts, 
and in the church of the first-born ; in his own perfec- 
tions, and in every power of the soul. 

No wonder that religion appears ill-favoured and ug- 
ly to the men of the world who have never taken a near 
look of her countenance and charms. But the nearer 
we live to the Saviour, the more of his loveliness we 
shall see, and be the more enamoured : and the more 
we exercise ourselves in religion, the duties thereof 
will still be the more amiable and engaging. Now, if 
glory at this great distance, (for what can be more re- 
moved from each other, than time and eternity, this and 
the other world ?) be so desirable, so divine, whose ve- 
ry foresight sheds an heaven into the soul, which re- 
joices with exceeding great joy, in hope of the glory 
of God ! what must it be, when possessed to the full ? 
If the numbered drops that water the fields below be so 
refreshful, what must that overflowing fulness be in the 
regions above, that satiates and replenishes the soul ? If 
the Sun of Righteousness shines so bright in the firm- 
ament of grace, through all the clouds, where he is but 
beginning to arise, what must his clear, his unclouded 
beams be in the firmament of glory, where his meri- 
dian is eternal ? If this bliss, this happiness, this life, 
this joy and glory, be accounted by us, while little 
known, immense, excellent, and infinite, what must it 
be, when beheld in another light, possessed in a high- 
er capacity, and enjoyed to its extent ! 



MEDITATION C, 

JUBILEE. 

Gibraltar Mcle, June 12, 1759. 
Every thing that was written of old was written for 
eur instruction, on whom the ends of the world are 
come. Now, Israel, when redeemed from Egyptian 
bondage, hud both a sabbatical year appointed them, 
and the great Jubiiee. The first was every seventh 



188 SOLITUDE SWEETENEB ; OH 5 

year, that not only weeks but years might have their 
sabbath ; and the last when a week of sabbatical years 
was completed. There was also an ambulatory re- 
lease, (if I may so call it,) respecting every individual, 
when, after six years service, the man-servant and maid- 
servant were set at liberty. 

All these Israel, by divine command, observed ; and 
though their deliverance from Egyptian bondage was 
thereby commemorated, yet it respected a much diviner 
and more interesting liberty. By one the land was to 
rest ; by another the labourers were enlarged ; and by 
the third the lawful heirs returned to the inheritance of 
their fathers. And may not this prefigure, that wher- 
ever the gospel is believed, the land that reeled to and 
fro, that was moved exceedingly, because the transgres- 
sions of its inhabitants were heavy upon it, is favoured 
with a kind of rest and repose, in comparison of those 
places where the beams of the house, and the stones 
of the wall, cry out to one another? Again, is not here 
prefigured the deliverance of individuals from the sla- 
very of sin, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ? 
And, lastly, is not here shadowed out the salvation of 
the whole world, from the ignorance, idolatry, and dark- 
ness, that bed overspread all nations ? 

But though the Jews had both their sabbatical year, 
and great jubilee, yet they could not be made perfect 
without the gospel-dispensation. Therefore, all their 
grMid epochas were only typical of u the acceptable 
year of the Lord," when the great High Priest of God, 
with the trumpet of the everlasting gospel, proclaimed 
liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison-doors 
to them that were bound, not only through all the land 
of Israel, but to the ends of the earth. It was not 
strange, that the saints who lived in the times of types 
and shadows, without us, should not be made perfect; 
but it is strange that the saints who fall asleep in Christ, 
and so have past their week of trouble, and entered on 
the year of release, on the sabbath of rest, (so gracious- 
ly has God connected things,) though possessed of all 
felicity, cannot, without us, who are expectants of the 
same state, be made perfect ; as their souls wait for the 
resurrection of their bodies, that the whole man may 
exalt and enjoy him, who is very God and very man. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 189 

Now, though the seventh year was very pleasant and 
divine, yet the jubilee in all respects excelled it very 
far, being proclaimed with loud sounding trumpets to 
the ends of the land, inviting the captive to liberty, and 
the impoverished heirs to their paternal estates. But 
the jubilee of the glorious gospel darkens description 
itself, being glad tidings of great joy to all people, and 
a general proclamation to disinherited spendthrifts and 
bankrupts to return, through their elder Brother, who 
has redeemed the mortgaged inheritance, to the full 
and ample possession of spiritual things, of which they 
shall never be again despoiled. But the grandest and 
most glorious jubilee of all, is the jubilee of glory, 
when the great trumpet of eternity shall be blown, and 
the saints, who now seem outcasts in the land of death, 
shall hear and assemble, and enter into the full possess- 
ion of the everlasting kingdom. In this great and last 
jubilee, all former deliverances shall be summed up, so 
thai: there shall be no after-mortgaging of the inheri- 
tance, as might take place among the Israelites, no fears 
of being dispossessed of the land of promise, which 
often vex the Christian's breast. 

The blast of the ram's horn was heard all over Israel, 
the sound of the gospel all over the world ; but the last 
trumpet shall be heard in heaven, earth, and the grave ; 
so that the saints in all ages shall be equal sharers in this 
jubilee that shall end their sorrows, and begin their 
joys. Then shall they enter, not into a sabbatical year, 
that can be succeeded by time, but into a sabbatical 
eternity, even an eternal Sabbath of rest that shall nev- 
er have an end. 



MEDITATION CI. 

god's knowledge. 

Under sail, June 14, 1759. 
How do we admire a man that is a little wiser than 
ourselves ! Yet the wisdom of all the human tribes, of 
all the angelic hosts, is but folly before God i in whose 
infinite knowledge all our thoughts are iaid open, all 
our conceptions are swallowed up. How divinely glo- 
rious is his universal knowledge*, that extends to all! 



190 solitude sweetened; or, 

Man cannot know or retain every thought that has flow- 
ed from his own heart, every word that has dropped 
from his own mouth, much less those of his neighbours. 
But it i>* not so with God : not a man on either side the 
globe but he has his eyo on, not a thought but is brought 
forth in his presence, not a whisper but pours into his 
car, not a work but is wrought before him ; and all these 
things are for eve kirn. How must the mortal 

judge examine again and again the criminal, and the 
witnesses, and yet sometimes be doubtful what sentence 
to pass I But every thing is naked and open to him with 
whom we have to do. He presides over every purpose, 
guides every step, terminates every action, and gov- 
erns every individual. What amazing knowledge is 
this, that not only kingdoms and provinces, in their 
several revolutions and changes, but persons in their 
particular occurrences and circumstances, are minutely 
overruled by him i Now, how many must the actions, 
the words, and the thoughts be, oi so many millions 
of men, that are at one and the same time acting, speak- 
ing, thinking; yet all are known to him as clearly and 
distinctly as if there were but one person in the whole 
world. Nor is the far greater part or number of men 
that have departed into the world of spirits, some in 
pleasure, some in pain, less in his knowledge. Neither 
does his knowledge and concern about the human race di- 
minish his care of the irrational tribes ; for he feeds 
the young ravens that cry from the top of the rock, and 
the lion's whelps that roar from their dens, and kindly 
makes grass 10 grow for the milder inhabitants of the 
field. Every insect, which vain man in a manner des- 
pises, is both produced and preserved by him, and 
crawls in his omniscient ken, who sees and sends the 
juice through every fibre of the vegetative family, gives 
the floweis their rich variety of colours, and plants 
their various virtues. He disposes of the infant-nations 
that are daily born into the world, to supply the daily 
loss of that equal number, whose countenance he chan- 
ges, and sends them to their eternal home. By him 
the falling hairs of our heads are numbered, and the 
dead sparrows are not forget before him. The trees of 
every forest in every land, are green at his commaod ; 
every pile of grass and fragrant flower, every bud and 
blossom, every seed and root, every fruit and leaf; grows 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 191 

and fades, flourishes and withers before him. Heaven 
and earth are open to him, death and destruction have 
no covering. The drops of the clouds, and the dew of 
heaven, he numbers, and the billows of the vast ocean 
pass under his hand to be told. 

New, how perfect must his knowledge be, when all 
things present are so perfectly known to him, and are 
still as elearly in his knowledge when past and gone, as 
when present; as they also were in the same perspi- 
cuity known to him from eternity, be Pure ever they ex- 
isted. Nothing is past or to come in his knowledge ; 
in an unintelligible degree of perfection, ail is for ever 
present. 

From the above shallow thoughts of his infinite 
knowledge, how should I learn to admire God, to walk 
as ever in his eye, and to inscribe on ail my ways, 
" Thou, God, seest me ;" and to rejoice, because he 
that sees disposes of me according to his wisdom ! 

Moreover, though the heavens and their inhabitants ; 
the world of mankind, dead, alive, or to be born, in all 
their thoughts, words and actions ; the animal, reptile, 
and insect creation, in all their motions and changes ; 
trees, plants, flowers, and whatever else exists, were 
to, have an addition of other heavens, and other worlds, 
filled with intelligent inhabitants, and this addition con- 
tinued till space were in a manner replenished, and 
conception overpowered by the tremendous augmenta- 
tion ; yet, even when thus thoughts, words, actions, 
were multiplied almost to infinity, still every thing 
would be as clearly, plainly, and distinctly known to 
him, as if only one angel, one man, one insect, or one 
atom existed. Hence, we may understand how infinite 
his power must be, which is of the same extent with 
his knowledge, as are all his divine attributes, his ho- 
liness, justice, goodness, and truth: And, in a word, 
O saint! what may the joy of thy heart be, seeing his 
love to thee is of the same extent and duration ! 

MEDITATION GIL 

THE SABBATH. 

Mediterranean, under hall, June 16, 1759. 
God, that his chosen ones may never go too far from 
him, has bestowed many privileges upon them, and 



192 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OU, 

among the rest hath given them his Sabbaths. Though 
the world regard them not, but pollute them with ail 
their sinful pleasures, yet surely they are the refresh- 
ing of the serious soul ; days much to be regarded unto 
the Lord ; for on this day the redemption of God's Is- 
rael from the bondage of sin, from the gates of hell, 
was declared to be completed by the triumphant resur- 
rection of the Lord of glory. The Author of time has 
dignified this day with his benediction, and given us his 
divine example to rest from all our labours on this holy 
day. 

God, in all ages of the world, has honoured the Sab- 
bath. On it he would be worshipped publicly, and 
would allow nothing to encroach on this day, which he 
claimed for himself. On the seventh day he called up 
Moses into the mount, while thousands waited below, 
to instruct him about the church under the Old Testa- 
ment dispensation. He was also pleased to divide the 
longer extent of time into Sabbaths, that as every se- 
venth day was a Sabbath, so every seventh year should 
be sabbatical ; and, by a week of sabbatical years, were 
the revolutions of the glorious jubiies marked out, 
which gave gladness to the whole land. Likewise, un- 
der the New Testament dispensation, on this sacred 
day God began to reveal to his servant John what should 
befal the church to the end of the world. As he delights 
more in the gates of Zion than in all the dwellings of 
Jacob, so he displays more of his glory on this than on 
any other day. For many poor souls has he prepared 
of his own goodness on his own day ; and on this day 
he will be waited upon, and inquired of, by the house 
of Israel. This day is like the dew of eternity water- 
ing the barren fields of time, which makes God's plan- 
tation grow; but the wicked, who regard no Sabbath, 
are like the tops of ragged rocks, on which, though 
softening showers descend, and refreshful dews drop 
plentifully down, yet are not one whit the better. 

To rightly exercised souls, every Sabbath is a pre- 
cious type of the desirable resurrection ; for as the 
body in that rises from the dust of death to immortality 
and life, from a bed of corruption to spotless perfection, 
and from a separate state, (for death divides soul and 
body,) to perpetual communion with God in Christ, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 193 

being itself united in the harmony of all the parts and 
powers of the whole man, to feel distraction no more ; 
so in th;s day, the soul, when kindly visited of God, 
has its resurrection from the gulph of carnal cares, in- 
to which it sinks through the week, where many rot, 
and never see a resurrection; and from spiritual death 
to the glorious immortality of faith, when, with the 
apostle, we can say, " We live, yet not we, but Christ 
lives in us ; and the life we live in the flesh is by the 
faith of the Son of God." When we thus enjoy com- 
munion with God, the soul may be sai4,t© be, not only 
united to the1b v ody> but to have all its powers and fac- 
ulties in unimi and harmony among $}iemselves ; but 
when we depart from him, we are divided and torn 
asunder with a thousand anxieties, and, till we return 
to him, never become the perfect man, the complete 
person ; we have our bodies among the living, our souls 
in the congregation of the dead ; an awful contrariety 
to a natural death ! The Sabbath is also a foretaste and 
earnest of the eternal Sabbath of rest that is reserved 
for the saints above. 

This divine day should be prepared for while ap- 
proaching, sanctified when present, nor forgotten when 
past. God, as our Creator, we should remember, who 
sanctified the seventh day ; as our Redeemer, who 
changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week, 
when he rose triumphant over death ; and as our Judge, 
who, ere long, will swallow up all these passing refresh- 
ings in an eternal Sabbath of rest. This day, which 
God has so often honored with his appearance, not only 
to the disciples of old, but to the souls of his saints in 
all ages, should be honored by every one that bears the 
Christian name. This is the day in which Zion's courts 
are thronged, and in which, in his temple, every one- 
talks of his glory. Oa this day the church-militant ap- 
proaches nearest to the church-triumphant, who go up 
to his house with joy, to mingle their hosannas to his 
exalted name ; to whom, thus met in his sanctuary, he 
vouchsafes to show his stately syjns of majesty, and the 
manifestations of his .glory, whereby his saints are 
strengthened to hold on their way through this howling 
wilderness, till the everlasting Sabbath dawn, and rest 
eternal be their portion. 



194 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

MEDITATION CIII. 

ELIJAH AND ELISHA J A DIALOGUE. 

Under sail) June 17, 17 59. 
When the Lord would take up his dear servant Eli- 
jah into heaven by a whirlwind, which was known, at 
least to all the sons of the prophets, the pious Elisha 
attends his venerable master, and, when desired by him 
to stay behind him, protests that he will not leave him; 
he says not till death part them, but conscious that Eli- 
jah was to ascend to bliss as Enoch had done before, he 
is determined, if he may not enter in with him, yet to 
attend him to the very gates of glory. When the rev- 
erend seer sees the firm resolution of his promising pu- 
pil, he desists, and proposes what he would desire of 
him as the last office of kindness he could do for him 
before he should be taken from him. The one having 
mentioned, the other having replied to the petition, they 
continue the divine dialogue, and walk on in expecta- 
tion of the parting moment. And well may wc con- 
clude, that the subject was of the sublimest nature be* 
tween such great souls, and at such a period. Might 
we suppose the conference thus ? 

Elijah. My dear Elisha, thou art now attending, with 
joy and sorrow mixed, thy aged master through the last 
stage of life. I am not, like other men, expiring on a 
death-bed, but am to be wafted to the other world with- 
out the separation of soul and body, and in a little thou 
shalt see me no more. 

Elisha. O ! then, my master, my father, let our con- 
Terse be about the glory of the better country into which 
thou art soon to enter. 

Elijah. It already refreshes me ; the heavenly gale 
blows into my soul, and sheds a joy divine : To-day shall 
I behold his face in glory ; a glory so exceeding great, 
that I cannot describe it, but only pant after it. — Let 
him come and take me to himself. 

Ecisha. What, pray, are those transcendent excellen- 
ces of the heavenly inheritance, that make thee so de- 
sire it ? 

Elijah. The bliss above is unbounded, pure, and per- 
manent. The joys are transporting and divine. There 
God is enjoyed through Irs Son the Messiah, who is 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 1&& 

to assume our nature, suffer for our sins, take away our 
iniquities, and win eternal life for us ; whom all the sa- 
crifices hold forth, all the types, washings, and sprink- 
lings represent, and put us in remembrance of; to whom 
all we prophets bear witness ; and there our seeing him 
shall make us like him, and change us from glory to 
glory. — Divide, ye heavens, that I may enter in. 

Elisha. Does it create no uneasiness in thy breast, to 
leave the world, thy relations, and other concerns in it ? 

Elijah. Truly the world is to me as barren a waste, as 
wild a desart> as ever the wilderness was to our fore- 
fathers : And as to relations, as I got and found them 
from God, so I give them back, and lose them in God, 
who is himself to me all in all. Other concerns in the 
world have I none, but the Israel, the Zion of God, to 
whose protection, I commit her, who will be a wall of 
fire about her, and the glory in the midst of her ; to 
whom, (though but few in my days have kept from bow- 
ing the knee to Baal,) " a seed shall do service, and 
shall be accounted to him for a generation. " Yea, to 
leave the world makes me leap for joy, for sinners shall 
no more create me sorrow, and I myself shall henceforth 
cease to sin. There I shall join the church of the first- 
born, those that are written among the living in Jerusa- 
lem ; and then, O how shall I sing to the eternal name, 
and never cease, and never tire i My bliss shall know 
no bound, my rapture no restraint, my gladness no al- 
loy, my day no night, my sky no cloud, my light no 
shadow, my glory no decay, my praises no interrup- 
tion, my delight no cloy, my strength no weariness, 
my subject no diminution, my pleasures no period, and 
my eternity no end. — Eternity t let it just now begin. 

Elisha. O how should I rejoice to enter with thee, 
though through the dark passage of death, into that tri- 
umphant state f 

Elijah. A triumphant state, indeed ! where God 
dwells in the full display of his glory, and where, (not 
as below,) the holy of holies stands eternally open for 
all the worshippers of God, w fomri th freedom enter in. 
Trouble is debarred the seats ©^tranquility, and pain 
the regions of immortality. No passion disturbs the 
soul, and perfect love casts out all fear ; and there the 
glories of Immanuel enlighten the unbounded extent of 



196 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; ®R, 

paradise. My dear Elisha, in a little you would not 
know your aged friend Elijah ! Now I am wrinkjed with 
age and sorrow, as you know I have been jealous for 
the honor of my God, who is now about to translate me 
to his ineffable glory ; but then a smile, known to none 
but the inhabitants of bliss, shall sit down on my coun- 
tenance for eternity, and make my face shine as an an- 
gel of God. O the hidden treasures of eternity, that 
glorified saints possess ! O the vastness of that glory 
which eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor the 
heart of man conceived, that waits to be revealed I I 
stand on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, on the 
confines of eternity, and glance at ail that glory which 
in a little shall be mine. With transport I shall enter 
his temple, where every one eternally talks of his glory. 
I pant for the approaching opportunity to prostrate my- 
self before the highest throne, wholly dissolved in lore. 
— Let the hour shorten into a minute, the minute into a 
moment, and the moment be no more ! — It is done I 
The heavens divide, the fiery chariot, quick as light- 
ning, rolls : — My blessing on Israel, on Zion, on thee, 
my dear Elisha. — Welcome, my. only Lord God : — Hea- 
ven opens round about me, glory overflows me, and the 
transforming beams infold and bear me hence to ever- 
lasting clay. 

Eiiska. " My father, my father, the chariot of Israel* 
and the horsemen thereof!" 



MEDITATION CIV. 

THE COMPANY OF THE WICKJLD CORRUPTS. 

June 19, 1759, 
Under the hw he was polluted who did touch any 
dead carcass, or even his bed who had^a running sore, 
and was to wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, 
and be unclean until the even. Now, if thus that which 
only represented sin defiled under the ceremonial law, 
how must sin itself Jh e source of all uncleanness, ev- 
ery where defile ! Alas ! I have reason to fear, that its 
pollution be more permanent than for a day. And as he 
who was every whit sound himself was rendered unclean, 
if he had but touched, though unawares, the bed where- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 196 

on he who had the running* issue lay ; so am I defiled, 
not only by sin rising in mine own breast, but by hear- 
ing and seeing the sin of others. For the corruption of 
my nature is so great, that I am ready to catch the con- 
tagion ; apd if I do not detest, hate, and abhor it, as I 
should, then am I polluted by it. 

How pernicious, then, the presence of the ungodly 1 
How are these spiritual, these greatest fools to be 
avoided, whose companions are sure to be destroyed 1 
How gloomy that company, and how disagreeable to 
enter into it, where God never comes, where his glory 
never shines ! Surely grace rather needs oil to support 
its flame, than water to extinguish its fire ; but water 
is ail lean expect from the wicked. O! misera- 
ble man, who hast no other to walk with thee by day, 
no other to talk with by night, none else to deal with 
abroad, or to discourse with at home ! Yet, out of the 
world we must go, unless we have intercourse with the 
men of the world. Let that, however, be only in the 
common affairs of life, let it be dispatched with little 
expense of precious time, and without contracting an 
intimate acquaintance with them, unless in view of do- 
ing good to their immortal souls; and still, may the 
saints, the excellent ones of the earth, be the chosen 
companions of my life. 

Hitherto, alas 1 I have been ignorant of my danger ; 
for the wicked are ever casting arrows, fire-brands, and 
death, in their sporting with religion, and trifling with 
a world to come, and among such madmen must I not 
be wounded ? Hence, let me every day, that tnc, tiith 
may not cleave to me, bathe myself in the righteous- 
ness of the Son of God by faith ; and purge my daily 
walks, (which, like the flesh under the law, is apt to 
receive the infection.) by sincere repentance ; that, at 
the evening of my life, I may not lie down polluted in 
the grave, and rise in the morning of eternity with the 
putrefaction of sin. 



R2 



198 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

MEDITATION CV. 

TO ESCAPE WRATH SHOULD SILENCE UNDER ALL AF- 
FLICTIONS. 

June 20, 1759. 
When I revolve a thought or two in my mind, I won- 
der that ever I can have a downcast countenance for all 
that can befal me in the world. To be delivered from 
wrath, and destined to glory, is a composing, a silen- 
cing thought. When I have the tooth-ach but for one 
night, and keep tossing and tumbling from side to side 
with the excruciating pain, how long the night appears ! 
But what, then, must the everlasting night of wrath be, 
that eternity of wo ? Had I a due sense of divine ven- 
geance, I should think myself happy in the midst of 
my bitterest afflictions, if I might entertain the sweet 
hopes of being delivered from the wrath to come. Dare 
I, then, complain of the chastisement of a Father, who 
have made myself obnoxious to the irrevocable sentence 
of an angry Judge ? Am I displeased that in providence 
he sits as a refiner, when in justice he might be a con- 
suming fire to me ? Can I cry out of passing through 
the fire and water of affliction, when he might set me 
up for his mark, cause his arrows to enter into my 
soul, itnd the poison thereof to drink up my spirits 
through eternity ? Should I complain of trouble and 
pain, who deserve to be tormented day_ and night for- 
ever and ever \ Dare I be disconsolate under the loss 
of relations, who might have been chained through all 
ages with tne fraternity of devils, with whom I had join- 
ed in rebellion against God ? Alas ! what shall I say 1 
I own that I cannot condemn myself according to my 
guilt. — What can come upon me that I can complain 
of, when delivered from the wrath to come ? Could I 
look into the burning lake, and see the tortures of the 
damned, how should I bless the most miserable condi- 
tion of the world, and embrace the bitterest afflictions, 
if sweetened with the hopes of escaping that place of 
torment? But, if faith, divinely bold, on solid grounds, 
can even refuse to quit with her claim to the heavenly 
inheritance, what in the world can make me miserable ? 
To be delivered from everlasting flames, should afford 
me a lasting joy in the midst of every sorrow. Has Je- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 199 

hovah dealt so Kindly with my eternal duration, and 
will I, dare I, for very shame, quarrel with his conduct 
of my few moments of time ? The griefs that vex are 
short lived, but the anguish he has rescued me from is 
everlasting. Under all my temporal adversities, it 
should make me silent, that I shall not roar out under 
his avenging hand for ever. And it should turn my 
murmurings here into a song, that I shall not howl 
hereafter. He that escapes out of his house when on 
fire, will not much mind stumbling on a stone in his 
flight, so, if I escape the wrath to come, no matter 
though my way lie over thorns of trouble, and briers of 
adversity. The soul that is delivered from the pit of 
corruption, should with pleasure walk the rough way 
of affliction towards the paradise of God. Moreover, 
he that brings out of hell, and bears to heaven, cannot 
but bless by the way ; he can even bless w T ith crosses, 
(flesh and blood cannot believe this,) benefit with adver- 
sities, enrich with losses, and nourish with disappoint- 
ment and pain. Therefore will I, without reserve, roll 
over on him the transient moments of my life, to be 
distributed as he pleases, since he hath rendered my 
eternity happy, that passeth not away. 



MEDITATION CVI. 

ADOPTION. 

Under sail, Jun>. 23, 1?59. 
Every true Christian is a free-man ; and while the 
rest of the world are very slaves, the saints are kings 
and priests to God and the Lamb. They are all sons of 
the Highest, and no relation comes up to that of son- 
ship ; for though the servant may remain long in the 
house, yet he " abideth not in the house for ever." 
Noble progenitors are the pride of the world, while ev- 
ery one boasts of his high birth, and great blood, as 
Pharaoh's counsellors of old : " I am the son of the wise, 
the son of ancient kings." But when, in Christ, we can 
say, " Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet 
appear what we shall be, but we know, that* when he 
shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him 
as he is," then we may boast an heavenly descent. 



200 SOLITUDE SWEETENED : OP y 

*No beggar would refuse to becoifi^the adopted son 
and heir of a rich man ; but none so poor as men in 
their natural state, and none so rich as God. What a 
non-such blessing, then, for foundlings and outcasts to 
be made the sons of God, for bankrupts to be made 
the heirs of bliss ! But, what madness in them to con- 
temn the heavenly privilege ! What are all our con- 
tendings about rank and pedigree, which must end in 
corruption, and terminate in dust I It will nothing avail 
us, though royal blood run in our veins, unless the 
Spirit of adoption be sent forth into our souls, where- 
by, with the voice of faith, we may cry, Abba, Father ; 
and know, as a fruit of this divine privilege, what it is 
to go with freedom to so near and compassionate a rela- 
tion, who, being both wise, good, and tender-hearted, 
will never give evil things to his children. 

But, O ! how should the adopted one, the son of God 
walk, and behave according to the character of the di- 
vine family, whereof, in free grace, he is made a mem- 
ber ! The cross events of our terrestrial pilgrimage will 
often scatter a family far and wide ; but once a son, al- 
ways a son in the celestial and invisible society, and al- 
ways in the Father's presence. When adopted into this 
relation which aggrandizes, the honour is not only di- 
vinely glorious, bug! the privileges ineffably great 
Though they come not within the glance of the carnal 
eye, yet they are not, on this account, the less real. 
Possessed of them, the poor saint, whom the world per- 
haps disdains to notice, may survey, with grateful songs, 
the extent of his felicity, the vastness of his bliss ; and 
may tell with triumph, i( God is my Father, Christ my 
Elder Brother ; afflictions and chastisements the signs 
of my Father's love and care ; heaven my reserved in- 
heritance ; glory my future portion ; life and death, 
things present, and tilings to come, are all mine." 

What empty sounds are all honorary" titles to this, 
" sons of God !" How poor to be the heir-apparent of 
a crown, to the solid expectation of eternal life I Sure- 
ly the child of adoption is the happiest man in the world. 
Angels, these superior beings, are even ministering 
spirits to the heirs of salvation ; and whoever injures 
them is said to " touch the apple of God's eye :" a fig- 
urative, but most expressive speech, as there is no p«H 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS, 201 

so tender as the eyg, and no part of the eye so precious 
as the pupil, or apple, which we defend from danger 
with the greatest care. Such an one has a right to all 
the privileges of the sons of God ; and what privileges 
will not such a Father, whose affection is infinite, and 
his power unbounded, bestow on his sons ? Whoever 
rises against them, offends the whole family of heaven ; 
for, " he that despises you," says Christ to his disci- 
ples, " despises me ; and he that despises me, despises 
him that sent me " And if the command is given to 
guard one chosen soul, suddenly is he surrounded with 
the chariots of eternity, and horses of heaven r terribly 
glorious in their fiery majesty 1 

It is true, that now the adopted sons of God are like 
grandees dwelling incognito in a foreign land. Their 
pedigree is not known, their grand* ur is not seen, and 
therefore their station is neither admired nor coveted. 
But, there is a day coming, when all the sons of God 
shall make their glorious appearance in one majestic 
throng, in the sight of an assembled world, who shall 
be ashamed that ever they spoke so highly of the men 
that were but sprung of the earth, and so meanly of 
those that were born from heaven. Wnat beauty shall 
shed itself round about them ! They shall be clothed in 
robes of glory, with palms of victory in their hands, and 
the charier of the covenant, containing all the privile- 
ges of adoption, spread before them, and an august 
proclamation shall be made in the hearing of men, an- 
gels, and devils, " These are the sons of the living 
God." 

Now, if I be received into the royal family of heaven,, 
let me break off correspondence with the King's ene- 
mies, sin and vanity, and show the great soul, the re- 
fined sentiment, and elevated thought, in hating what 
he forbids, however sweet to the carnal mind, and In 
choosing what he commands, however cross to flesh 
and blood. It he is my Father, let me honour and rev- 
erence him, who will never be terrible to me as a Judge, 
Let me receive correction at his hand, and the law at 
his mouth ; and let me prove myself to be one of the 
celestial family, by speaking the language of the better 
country, and having my affections fixed above ; to be 
adopted in truth, by loving every one that seems to be 



202 solitude sweetened; on, 

adopted. Let me remember my former deplorable* 
condition, and be humble ; my present privileges, and 
be thankful ; and my future hopes, and be holy in all 
manner of life and conversation. And let me daily 
wonder at that love, and adore the sovereignty of that 
free grace, that puts hellish brats among the sons of 
God, and enriches them with so many privileges; priv- 
ileges which contain not only what is good in this world, 
but the glories and felicities of the world to come. 



MEDITATION CVIL 

CONNEXIONS. 

June 24, 1759. 

Ignorant mortals are always rash in- their conclu- 
sions on the conduct of Providence, being blind in their 
views, and impatient under woes. But, to compose 
my combating thoughts, and make me wait the issue 
of all things with patience, let me look into some re- 
markable scripture-narratives, and see the fair sun-shine 
of kindness, after the storms ©f trouble and clouds of 
indignation are gone. 

First, then, let me look into that which befel the 
friend of God. Think what joy fiiied the patriarch's 
biccst when promised a son in his old age, and how 
this joy was increased when the promised seed was 
born, circumcised, and grew up to be a pretty boy, the 
joy of both his parents. But, look again, and see the 
amazing temptation, the tremendous scene that ensues! 
The promised seed must be sacrificed, and that by the 
hand of a most affectionate father ! Yet, see his aged 
joints tremble ail the way to Mount Moriah, to offer 
up nis beloved Isaac, as it were resigning the promise 
again to God, trusting God to make it out some other 
way, though it were by raising him from the dead. 
Now, let us view the beginning of the trial of his faith; 
how dyrk and gloomy, how opposite to reason, affection, 
and religion too ; but, let us connect the latter end with 
the beginniifg, and all at once is beautiful and bright. 
There his faith is tried, here it triumphs ; there God 
commands, here he commends his obedience : There 
he requires, here he restores Isaac : The voice of God 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 203 

at first seems to strike at his former promise, here it 
confirms all with new promises, enlarged blessings, 
and this glorious name super-added, " The father of the 
faithful/' Abraham comes home full of gladness and 
gratitude ; and we have the divine account, to teach us 
to wait the end before we draw our conclusions of God's 
providential way. 

The second is the account of Joseph. In the first 
part of the scene, see his young heart ready to burst 
and break with bitter anguish i Hear his many, but 
fruitless supplications to his cruel brethren ! How 
melting are his cries, while his hard-hearted brethren 
draw him out of the pit, to sell him for a slave ! No- 
thing can sa\e him ; compassionate Reuben is not with- 
in the reach of his cry. The price is agreed upon, the 
money is paid, and away he must go ; and neither his 
parting importunities, his piercing cries, nor piteous 
back-looks, can move them to relent. Moreover, after 
a little advancement in Egypt, he is thrown from the 
liberty of a servant into the confinement of a prison. 
This at first sight is a melancholy scene ; but if wc 
look to the sufferings of a tender-hearted father, it is 
heightened to the highest pitch. All his sons and 
daughters gather around the grey-headed mourner, to 
comfort him, bat in vain ; for still he thinks he sees 
the wild beast tearing his beloved Joseph in pieces, 
who screams out for help, but none to help is near ; and 
then he is like to faint through the excess of sorrow. 
Now, this is the first part of the Providence, which in- 
deed has a very dejecting aspect, and if we had never 
heard more of the matter, we would have concluded 
them both very miserable ; but let us see how the dear 
connexion stands. Jacob, who had mourned many 
years, is at last overflowed with tides of joy. Joseph, 
the lost, the long-lamented Joseph, is still alive ! The 
youth who was sold into Egypt as a servant, has all 
Egypt at his service ! He who had his feet hurt with 
fetters, may now bind princes at his pleasure, and teach 
senators wisdom i He who lately drudged about in a 
dungeon, to attend prisoners, becomes a father to a 
king I His brothers, who envied him for his dreams, 
bow before him, as the accomplishment of those very 
dreams which bred their envy i He whose life they so 



204: SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR, 

little valued, saves the lives of thousands ; and at his 
word, whose snpplications his brethren would not hear, 
all the land of Egypt is governed ! The long separated 
relations meet, and melt in kindness on one another's 
neck ! 

We have, fnot to name others,) a similar instance in 
the great apostle Paul, and by his own observation too, 
in his epistle to the Philippians. This great man, after 
his singular conversion, preached Christ unweariedly 
in many trials and sufferings ; till, at length he returns 
to Jerusalem. There by the enraged and unbelieving 
Jews he is set upon, and would have been slain, had not 
the Roman captain rescued him ; but he is so persecu- 
ted with their cruel rage, malice, and underhand deal- 
ings, that he is compelled to appeal to an heathen em- 
peror. Now the great apostle of the Gentiles, to the 
great grief of the church, is a poor prisoner; hence 
says he " I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ." He 
is a long time confined in Judah, then sent to Rome, 
where, though shipwrecked in his passage, he arrives, 
and is kept two years a prisoner at large. But, says he 
to the Philippians, u I would not that ye should be igno- 
rant, brethren, that the things which happened unto 
me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the 
gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all 
the palace, and in all other places. x\nd many of the 
brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, 
are much more bold to speak the word without fear." 
How noble the connexion! Paul intends to visit Rome 
at his own expenses, to preach the gospel there ; but 
Providence, on the emperor's expenses, brings him to 
make converts, not only in the royal city, but in the 
very palace. The Jews think they have succeeded to 
their very wish, when they have thus got rid of a pes- 
tilent fellow, and a ringleader of the sect of the Naza- 
renes ; but they could not have fallen upon a be iter 
method to spread his doctrine, and support his cause. 
To appearance, his success must end, when his impris- 
onment begins: but it is quite the reverse; not only 
Paul persists in preaching the gospel without prohibi- 
tion, but the brethren wax bold. 

What reason, then, have I to complain on the first 
j?art of Providence, while the outer wheel is only seen? 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 205 

Should I not wait till the inner wheel turn round, and 
I can read plainly the last connexion ? And what though 
that should be reserved for eternity ? Tnere every pro- 
vidence shall be completed to mine everlasting comfort, 
and all things concerning me connected in the most 
beautiful harmony. There shall not be the least gap in 
my lot or life, when time is no more; but all things 
shall be made up to me in Christ Jesus, to the entire 
satisfaction of my souL 



MEDITATION CVIII. 

DEGREES OF NEARNESS TO GOD. 

Under saiU June 25, 1759. 
There are different degrees of nearness to God, 
which the saints enjoy. One of these is essential to the 
very being of religion in the soul; namely, when the 
alien to Israel's commonwealth is brought near to God, 
through the blood of Jesus, and, of a foreigner, made 
a fellow. citizen with the saints, and of the household 
of God. But, another and higher step is the special 
indulgence of Heaven to some saints, and but at some 
times. In the nearness of faith, (for none that have 
true faith can be far from God,) I walk with God in 
the duties of religion : In the nearness of sense, he 
walks with me in special manifestation of himself, of 
his love, and his glory. The one is sure and satisfy- 
ing ; the other is sweet and comforting. Without the 
approaches of faith, I cannot expect sensible commun- 
ion ; but I may have the first, when the last is withheld 
from me. The one is my daily allowance from the 
King's table, without which I could not live, but the 
other is my sitting down at the table with the King, to 
the feast made by him, for the joy of his chosen. The 
one makes me obtain the victory over the world ; the 
other makes me weary of the world. The former is 
the King's highway to heaven ; and in the latter, I walk 
on it in the sun-shine of his presence. The one gives 
a continual relish of spiritual things ; the other, a re- 
freshful foretaste of heaven, a prelibation of glory. In 
the first; I have access to God in all my* perplexities. 
that I may not despair; but I am favoured with the lest 

S 



206 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; Ott, 

only at times, that I may not presume. The joy of the 
first excels the worldling's gladness from all his abund- 
ance, as far as light excelleth darkness ; but the joy of 
the last is a kin to the joy of saints in glory. In acts of 
lively faith, the world is to me but dung and loss, for the 
excellency of the glorious object ; but in near access to, 
and communion with my Lord, I would fain put off cor- 
ruption, put on immortality, and become an inhabitant 
of the world above. O how does a beauty beam on my 
scul, in the few moments of communion, as if heaven 
opened before me, and eternal day shone full in my 
face ! What sacred joy prevails within, and how am I 
refreshed in every power ? Though the Christian must 
not build on them, since without them his soul may live, 
yet they are not, as scoffers would affirm, delusion, en- 
thusiasm, .and such like; for always after this divine 
intercourse, Christ is dearer to me, self more loath- 
some, sin more odious, the world more vain, religion 
more pleasant, my affections more refined, my desires 
more on spiritual things, and heaven more desirable. 
But now, if a pleasure so great, of which we can only 
1 conceive while we enjoy it, spring from a few moments 
communion in a more glorious way than usual, (for ev- 
ery saint has communion with God,) how divine is a re- 
ligious life ! And what a tragical scene is the most plea- 
sant life of the happiest sinner, compared to this ! And, 
in a word, what must the life of glory be, where com- 
munion, of another nature than ever known below, shall 
be the privilege of all the heavenly family ! where God 
shall shine in all his glory, and shed abroad his love 
in every glowing heart ! and where it shall be the inef- 
fable bliss of every ardent adorer, to see more and more 
of his goodness, and approach nearei and nearer to God, 
in the uninterrupted freedom of rapturous communion, 
through an endless evermore ! 



MEDITATION CIX. 

UNBELIEF. 

Lying to^ off Toulon^ June 29, 1759. 
Few, I believe, read the history of Israel's deliver- 
ance from Egypt, passage through the Red Sea, and 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 207 

daily miraculous provision in the wilderness, on the 
one hand, with their doubts, quarrels, complaints, mur- 
muring, and rebellion, on the other, but are ready to 
cry out, O hard-hearted Jews ! O unbelieving Israelites, 
to doubt in the midst of such a glorious display of di- 
vine goodness ! Well, then, I verily believe that no 
Christian ever lived any while below, but one time or 
other had providences exercised toward him in such a 
manner as forbade him any more to doubt. Therefore, 
we may convert our cry against the Jews into a com- 
plaint against ourselves, and condemn our own unbe- 
lieving hearts, that can, in the midst of so many exceed- 
ing great and precious promises, under the sun-shine 
of so much tender mercy and loving kindness, cry out, 
I perish, I perish : 

How horrid, how hateful, and how hurtful a sin is un- 
belief! It spits in the face of the promise, and accounts 
the faithfulness of God a lie. It forgets ail the great 
things which God hath done before, and despairs of ev- 
er seeing again the like displays of divine power. It 
heightens the calamity, doubles the distress, and con- 
cludes deliverance impossible. As the prayer of faith 
opens heaven, so the despondence of unbelief shuts it. 
It starves the soul, and disturbs sweet tranquility of 
mind. It musters fears, multiplies enemies, and says, 
like Solomon's sluggard, " There is a lion in the way, 
I shall be slain." As strong faith glorifies God most, so 
great, unbelief dishonors him to the highest degree. It 
binds up the very arm of God, who cannot, who will not 
domany mighty works where unbelief prevails. It draws 
death out of the book of life, by gathering up the threaten- 
ings, and passing over the promises. As the most per- 
fect degree of faith, which is assurance, is heaven be* 
gun below, so the highest degree of unbelief, which is 
despair, is hell begun in time. How daringly does it 
contend with God, and dispute the matter with the Most 
High ! Says God, " Put me in remembrance,'" to wit, 
of my promise ; but says unbelief, " Thou hast forgot- 
ten to be gracious, and in thy wrath hast shut up thy 
tender mercies." Says God, " Remember what ene- 
mies consulted against thee, and what enemies answer- 
ed, that thou mayest know the righteousness of the 
Lord ;" but says unbelief, " This evil is of the Lord, 



208 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; Oft, 

why should I wait for him any longer ?" Says God, " I 
have blotted out your sins as a cloud, and your iniqui- 
ties as a thick cloud ;" " No," says unbelief, " they are 
marked before thee in a book, for the time to come, for 
ever and ever." 

Now, shall I harbour such a monster in my bn 
that would turn my whole soul into confusion ? Shall* 
circumscribe that power that has often displayed its glo- 
ry in my deliverance ? Shall I deny the merits of the 
sufferings of the Son of God, or the virtue of his blood I 
Shall I be afraid that his grace be not sufficient to 
strengthen me for the performance of every duty to 
which he may call me ? It is not only ungenerous, but 
sinful, to entertain thoughts so detracting from the glo- 
ry of God, and so destructive to mine own soul. Hence- 
forth, let me be strong in the faith, giving glory to God. 
Let me lift mine eyes from growing difficulties of eve- 
ry kind, on every hand, and look to God ; so shall the 
mountain become a plain, and over the stream of afflic- 
tion I shall go dry shod. 

But why condemn Israel and not myself? The God 
that did those wonders, is the same with whom I have 
to do. As I believe them to be true, I am as much 
bound to believe him, as they were who saw them, see- 
ing he changes not, nor faints, nor is -weary, and since 
his care over his church and saints is che same in all 
ages. And though I am not to expect miracles, by 
which he confirmed the church to hinxself in those 
times, yet I am with as great confidence to depend on 
that God, to whom miracles are as easy as the common 
course of nature, as if I were governed by the interpo- 
sition of miracles. Let me not, then, myself commit 
what I condemn in others, but learn spiritual wisdom 
from spiritual folly ? Yea, how egregiously guilty shall 
I be if I retain a transgression in my right hand, for 
which I have seen in the sacred records, men so awful- 
ly punished, and with which God has shown himself 
so highly displeased 1 And no wonder, for unbelief 
strikes against God ; whatever the language of other 
sins be, still this speaks against God, even in every mur- 
muring whisper! Against his faithfulness, as if his 
promise might not be depended on, nor his record re- 
ceived 5 against his power, as if it could not perform 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 209 

and bring to pass ; his wisdom, as if he could not fore- 
see ; his providence, as if he could not protect, defend, 
provide ; his counsel, as if he could not direct ; his 
mercy, as if he had no compassion-; his conduct as if 
he could err ; and, in a word, against all his glorious 
perfections, as if he were not God. 

If my unbelief respects my sin, I look more to the 
demerit of my transgressions, than to the dignity of the 
divine redeemer, that taketh away the sin of the world. 
Now, as the Creator is infinitely greater than the crea- 
ture, so the Saviour, who is Immanuel, God with us is 
infinitely above the sinner, and from eternal wrath can 
save to the uttermost all that come to God through him. 
It is but cruel unbelief at the bottom, however I may 
pretend to put honor on the holiness of God, when I 
say that my sins are too atrocious to be satisfied for by 
the death and sufferings of our incarnate God, too black 
to be washed away by the blood of the Lamb of God. 

Again, if mine unbelief respects the affairs of this 
life, I measure omnipotence by my weakness, infinite 
wisdom by my folly, and God by myself. So, when I 
am nonplussed, I think that God is so too, else why 
should I be disquieted in any condition, were not my 
thoughts of this detestable stamp, seeing he can redeem 
out of all distress ? Then let me look, in all cases and 
afflicting circumstances, beyond the appearance, above 
the probability, yea, above apparent impossibilities, to 
God alone, and I shall never repent my confidence, no? 
be ashamed of my hope. 



MEDITATION CX. 

OUR SHORT LIFE SHOULD NOT GIVE MUCH CONCERN 

Gulf of Lyons) July 3, 1759. 
My mind is like a piece of ground, which, being 
over-run with weeds, no diligence can render quite 
clean, no care cap keep thern from appearing again, even 
after they have been plucked away. Surely so it fares 
with me and my sinful anxieties. They are ever spring- 
ing up anew and troubling me, and nothing will utterly 
and entirely destroy them, till the ground be turned up 
by the plough of death, and left fallow till the resurree- 
"■ ' ^ : S 2 - ■■• v;^ ' 



210 solitude sweetened; or, 

tion. Yet, that I be not altogether barren and unfruit- 
ful in the work of the Lord, let the busy hand of faith be 
ever plucking up the base weeds of noxious unbelief. 

Again, why am 1 so much concerned about a world I 
am so soon to leave ? Were my possessions to fall on 
this side Jordan, and I to inhabit here for ever, what 
more could I do than I have done, and am doing ? Yet 1 
am but a stranger, a sojourner, and a pilgrim ; hereto- 
night, but gone to-morrow, to return no more. Yea, 
this night, what dare I boast of to-morrow, not knowing 
what the silent watches of the night may bring forth ? 
and if not of one day, far less of many, may I boast. 
It is but a look, and I have lost sight of this world eter- 
nally ; why then set my heart on that which shall one 
time or other so terribly deceive me ? A few moments, 
and my eternal state is begun, and I am naturalized in 
the world of spirits, and dashed out of the roll of the 
sons of Adam, yea, out of the remembrance of all my 
nearest relations ! Should I, then, mind much what 
entertainment I meet with by the way, if I may make 
an happy journey's end ? The traveller ought to think 
more on his home, than on his usage in his way home. 
Surely, one should be ready to think, that men carried 
their riches to eternity with them, yea, and were more 
welcome on that account, or why these unwearied en- 
deavors, and perpetual bereavings of rest, to obtain 
them ? O folly ! O fear ! O faithlessness ! Folly, that I 
concern myself with moments, and neglect eternity : 
Fear, that I should be distressed about a day, which 
scarce has dawned till done, and dwell not with joy on 
ages to come : Faithlessness, that I should doubt the 
promise, yea, the appendix to the promise ; for salva- 
tion from sin, and eternal life, is the promise, and all 
things that respect this life are only appendixes thereto; 
as if he who is faithful in one thing, and the only thing, 
could falsify in trifles. 

Now, though my whole life were one continued scene 
of affliction, yet the very shortness of it might sweeten 
it. Though it be a vapor, a shadow, a wind that pass- 
cth away, surely the attending calamities can be of no 
longer continuance, than that duration upon which 
attend. Nothing can pass from this world to that, but 
my disembodied immortality \ yea, the painful rem*m* 



MISCELLANEOUS ME»ITAT10NS. 211 

brance of my troubles and present distresses, shall 
cease when I am swallowed up of everlasting joy. I 
see, then, that my concern turns on a wrong hinge, and 
my care terminates on a trifle. All my concern should 
be, not to provide for the few moments of a transient 
life, but to improve for the glorious ages of an endless 
eternity. And that care which in despondency I expend 
on the vanities of time, how to be possessed of them, I 
should lay out in piety, on the treasures of uncreated 
glory, how to prepare for the divine possession. Well 
may I commit to him the bearing of my charges by the 
way, who has adopted me for his son, and made me an 
heir of his kingdom, to which I am travelling home. 

My time is become less since I began to write, and 
soon it will be wholly gone ; how foolish, then, to give 
myself present disquietude about time to come, which 
I may never see ! But<f* am certain of eternity There- 
fore, into grateful admiration at those approaching glo- 
ries which I shall there possess, I should convert my 
ungoverned lamentations over the present gloomy as- 
pects of time, and keep silence in the composing ex- 
ercise of faith ; remembering, that he had never a bad 
day, who had a good night ; nor a miserable life, who 
died the death of the righteous ; nor his time full of 
agony and grief, which ended in an eternity of glory ! 



MEDITATION CXI. 

FAITH. 

Gulf of Lijonsy July 7, 1759. 

Faith is a divine grace, and the very li^e £ the 
soul below ; hence we are said to " walk by felt)? ;" 
and if our lives are spiritual, it is by the faith of the 
Son of God that we live the spiritual life. 

It is a strange definition of faith given by the apostle 
to the Hebrews, yet divinely true, " Now, &kh is the 
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of livings 
not seen ;" that is, though we can only hope for those 
felicities and glories which are future, yel faith in its 
glorious acts, can suck the honey and marrow out of 
them, so as to supply the soul even in the present time, 
with the substance of that which is still future j and, by 



£12 solitude sweetened; oh, 

refreshful foretastes of bliss, bring the brightest evi- 
dences of celestial excellences, which are not visible 
to flesh and blood. Thus, by the first-fruits of glory, 
the soul is ascertained of entering into the land of pro- 
mise. Faith is begun vision, or seeing things at a dis- 
tance, and through a glass ; Vision is faith finished or 
perfected, and seeing things at hand, and with the na- 
ked eye. It is the bond of union between God and the 
soul, which can never be broken by all that can befai us 
in the world ; " for this is the victory that overcometh 
the world, even our faith." And he that believes in 
God endures all things, as seeing him who is invisible, 
and waits for the brighter, the diviner views of glory. 

Faith is a mutual inhabitation. It is Christ in the 
soul ; hence says the apostle, u I live, yet not I, but 
Christ liveth in me," and the soul in Christ ; hence we 
are said to « put on Christ," and, being dead to the 
world and to sin, to have our spiritual life hid with 
Christ in God. Faith bring to God the greatest hon- 
our, and to the soul the greatest happiness ; as unbe- 
lief does the opposite of both. Faith accounts him 
faithful who has promised, and composes all within ; 
while unbelief makes the God of truth a liar, and sets 
the whole soul in ail her powers and faculties, in an up- 
roar. Faith has won its victories, wrought its miracles, 
and done wonders in the world; " for to him that be- 
lieveth, all things are possible." And a warrantable 
faith never fell short of its expectation ; yea, often has 
the goodness of God gone beyond the faith of his saints. 

Every thing *br which I pray in faith shall be grant- 
ed, and mountains become a plain, and seeming impos- 
sibilities disappear. Yet I am not to pray for impossi- 
bilities ; for though to God ail things are possible, yet 
I could not pray in faith, (and whatsoever is not of faith 
is sin,) for things I am convinced I have no warrant in 
the word of God to seek or expect ; such as, for the 
sun to stand still, water to flow out of a^rock, seas to 
divide, and rivers to part asunder ; though all these 
things have been done. Again, I am not to pray for or 
expect things to be done in a miraculous manner for me, 
when, in the common course of providence, whatever 
I wart can be bestowed on me. I am not to expect the 
heavens to drop down manna to supply my daily neoes- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 213 

sity, or that my clothes should wear forty years without 
waxing old ; but I am to believe, in the miJst of my 
wants, that I shall be every day supplied in a greater or 
lesser degree, as seems meet to God, by the same lib- 
eral hand that showered down the manna in the wilder- 
ness; and perhaps in a manner that shall convince ma 
of his special care, and confirm my belief of his singu- 
lar favour, as much as if the drops of rain were turned 
into bread for me. His exercising his providence in 
providing me in raiment anew, should be as endearing 
to me, as if he exerted his power in keeping what I 
had from waxing old. But, if I am shut up in some 
circumstances, where, as far as I can see, nothing less 
than a miracle can deliver, then faith is to believe the 
miracle, rather than doubt the promise, or distrust the 
power of God, as if any thing were too hard for him. 

But, how comfortable is it, that when I pray, with 
submission to the divine disposal, only for warrantable 
things, in faith, I may be assured that I shall both be 
heard and answered ! but, if I doubt, then unbelief 
overturns all ; and this is the reason why I cannot pre- 
vail. How terrible, amidst my petitions, to doubt if 
God be able and willing to perform my request, when 
he has declared himself in the affirmative in both 1 
When I do so, I turn the great God into a mere feeble 
creature, in denying his power, and, (O horrid !) into a 
liar, in thinking that he has no intention to perform his 
promise. I see, then, that I should make my petitions 
with submission, leaving it wholly to God, what he will 
refuse, what he will chose for me ; but that to doubt his 
love, his power, his faithfulness, is a heinous sin ; — 
his power to perform to the extent of the promise, ei- 
ther as to. spiritual or temporal things ; — -his faithful*- 
ness, that he. wiii perform whatever he has promised; 
- — or his love, .which, so to spea^:, waits and longs for 
the fittest opportunities when his g lory ) and my good 
may be most advanced in performing the promise for 
me. Now, as his glory rises, so should my felicity, 
as I should count it all my 'happiness to have his glory 
set on high. 

Faith, then, is a triumphant grace. By its wrestling 
Jacob prevailed, and Jacob's wrestling sons still pre- 
vail with God. It always wins the day, secures the 



214 solitude sweetened; or, 

blessing, is never sent away empty ; will not,' cannot 
be said i ay. And by this boldness and confidence of 
faith, which is the gift of God, God is greatly glorifi- 
ed. Faith looks above created opposition, dwells in 
eterniiy, and hangs on the omnipotent arm of God. It 
wraps itseif up in the promise, and cannot be divided 
from it till it be performed in every respect. It is not 
terrified at storms, nor disquieted by disappointments? 
but looks beyond the storm, above the disappointment ; 
rests on the compassion, and fastens on the faithfulness 
of its glorious Author and Finisher. Faith stretches 
beyond the narrow confines of time, and takes broad 
views of the world to come ; takes a tour through the 
land of bliss, the Canaan above, andconverses with eter- 
nal ages. Faith, looking to the Promiser, sees the 
way of duty plain ; while fear cries out, " There is a 
lion in the streets, I shali be slain; danger and difficul- 
ty in the way, 1' cannot go." Surely, to him that be- 
lieveth, all things are possible; but to him that doubts, 
a mole-hill becomes a mountain In after ages, I shall 
be ashamed of my fears and unbelief, but never of my 
faith. Henceforth let me be strong in the faith, with 
submission ; — make my requests with., resignation ; — 
pmy in ine corfio- net of beii g heard ; — and believe all 
things with patience and composure. 



MEDITATION CXII. 

THE THREEFOLD STATE. 

Gulf of Lyons, July 8, 1759. 
Thbse changes £o over the natural world, the black 
and dark night, the fair and beauteous moonshine, and 
the bright and noon-day beams:. The same also prevail 
in the rational world ; there is the black and dark night 
of a natural state, in which the unconverted nations sit ; 
and there is the fair moonlight of grace, in which the 
saints walk till admitted into the eternal sunshine of glo- 
ry in the highest heavens. Night sat on the face of the 
deep at first, till God said, " Let there be light, 5 ' and 
scattered the eternal darkness with his manifesting ray. 
So every soul is not only in darkness, but darkness, it- 
self, till made light in the Lord ; and this darkness 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 215 

would be eternal, did not the divine beams break in upon 
the soul, and dispel the awful gloom. 

There is a vast disproportion betwixt those nights 
which are overcast with thick and heavy clouds, when 
the moon shines not, and not a star appears, but the 
angry heavens open in tremendous thunders, as if about 
to convey our destruction from the chambers of the sky, 
while the glaring lightnings, only like so many torches, 
ilash, to make our funeral more solemnly dismal, and 
those nights when not a star is hid, but in the beauty of 
the full-faced moon, which sheds a day in comparison of 
the former night, through the serene sether, on the si- 
lent earth, where not the least breath of wind is felt, nor 
the least confusion heard. But the disproportion is still 
greater between those that remain in their natural state, 
and those that are renewed in the spirit of their mind. 
For the poor sinner is in perpetual fear of being con- 
sumed by the angry thunders, and devoured by the wrath 
of the Almighty ; nor is his case less deplorable by his 
insensibility, for he shall at last be awakened with a ven- 
geance, when he shall find his misery consummate, 
without any possibility of redemption. But the happy- 
saint has a whole heaven shining on him, all the divine 
perfections smiling in his face, every thing around him 
quiet, and every thing within tranquil ; nor can afflic- 
tions of any kind, or of any quantity, or any continuance^ 
deprive him of this peace that passeth understanding. 

Now, we have this pleasant moon-light properly from 
the sun, being part of his emanations received by her, 
and reflected on us : So all the beauties and excellen- 
ces of grace are like so much divine glory seen through 
a glass, or reflected on us from the word of truth, the 
ordinances, and sacraments, by the operation and bles- 
sing of the Spirit of ail grace. 

Again, if we only enjoyed nights, beauteous by the 
unclouded moon and transparent sky, and knew that 
this light was from the sun, how would we long for day, 
to be delighted with beholding that bright orb ! Yet I 
very much question if we could conceive of the sun 
according to that transcendant brightness whereby he 
illuminates the extensive sky. We might conceive 
him to be beauteous like the moon, and avast deal larg- 
er, but could never form any just idea of his fiery beams, 
insufferable rays, and sparkling effulgence, too bright 



216 , solitude sweetened; on,' 

to be beheld by our weak eyes. Even so, while so ma- 
ny excellences, and. so much beauty, are to be found in 
sacred things, in religion, in the ordinances, in the sa- 
craments, in the church, and in the saints of God, here 
in this day of grace, which is all but a part of Imman- 
uel's glory reflected, how divinely bright must the Sun 
of righteousness shine above ! What amiable beauty 1 
what assimilating beams! what adorable perfections ! • 
what august emanations ! what entrancing delights ! 
wh^t majesty and splendour shall pour from him above ! 
Our thoughts recoil on us, and our apprehensions fail, 
when we think on his infinite glory. This created sun, 
which we so much admire, would disappear in the pre- 
sence of one of his remotest rays, as happened when 
Paul was converted. 

What brightness, what effulgence, what emanations, 
where he sheds around all his glory ! No cloud, no 
eclipse, no mist, no decline, no setting, to lessen his 
eternal blaze ? Surely, now our thoughts are in the dark 
about this Sun of righteousness, and Fountain of glory. 
When admitted to perfect vision, we shall find, that 
our clearest apprehensions and brightest uptakings of 
him below, differed but a degree from ignorance. How 
ineffably, how unconceivably glorious must he shine 
above ! when on the blessed beholders round the throne, 
life descends in every ray, assimilation in every beam, 
transport and delight in the eternal emanations of all 
his divine perfections ! 

How is it, then, that when I have seen something of 
the beauty of grace, I have not more desire to see all 
the excellences of glory ? — to turn about from the re- 
flective glass, and see him face to face ? — to scale the 
wall behind which he stands, and see him as he is ? — 
to change the transient glance into an eternal intuition 
of him in his glory I — How is it that I do not watch 
with more anxiety for the morning-fight, and look out 
more eagerly for the dawning of eternal day ? Is night 
to be preferred to noon ? or created joys to the pleas- 
ures that overflow in the divine presence ? Finish, then, 
thy work with me, and glorify thyself by me, before I 
go hence and be no more. Then, through the same 
grace shall I say, and with the same sincerity as it was 
at f rst spoken, " I have a desire to be dissolved, and to 
be with Christ, which is far better/* 



a!SCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 217 

MEDITATION CXIII. 

CORRUPTION. 

Gu{f of Lyons y July 9, 1759. 

Happy they who have put off, not only mortality, but 
Vin, and have put on, not only immortality, but perfec- 
tion, and, in triumph, trample on the neck of all their 
enemies, having neither foe without, nor foe within. 
But my daily complaint may be, " O wretched man that 
I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ?" Satan watches and way-lays me ; temptation 
attacks without, and corruption rises up within, and, 
alas ! too often I offend him who is all love, mercy, and 
goodness. O for the happy day, when I shall cease to 
sin, and to offend the best of friends, the Saviour of my 
soul ! when my whole soul shall be pure and holy, and 
not me seed of sin be left within ; when Satan shall 
tempt no more, and I yield no more to the temptation ; 
when my bitter complaint against corruption and sin, 
-shall be converted into sweet encomiums on redeeming 
grace : " to him that loved me, and washed me from 
my sins in his own blood, be glory, and honor, might? 
and dominion, for ever and ever." 

In view of that blessed day will I rejoice ; and, con- 
fiding in all-sufficient grace, I will travel to the mount 
of God with courage,; and, leaning on my Beloved, I 
will journey up through the wilderness undismayed. 
For it is when I go in mine own strength, or walk alone, 
that I stumble into sin, to rectify my mistaken notions, 
spoil my vain confidence, and make me depend on God 
alone. 



MEDITATION CXIV. 

OR ACE. 

Gulf of Lyons, July, 1759. 
Heavenly grace implanted in the soul, is the divine 
philosopher's stone, that turns every thing in our pos- 
session into a more excellent nature, and greater value. 
It is storied of the one, that it turns iron into silver, 
and silver into gold. But it is true of the other; that 
for "brass it brings gold; and for iron, silver; and for 
T 



218 solitude sweetened; or, 

wood, brass; and for stones, iron." Shedding divine 
contentment through the soul, it turns our water into 
wine, our pennies into pounds, our poor cottages into 
splendid paiaces, bare supply into abundant plenty, and 
every thing into sufficiency, because our satisfaction is 
the same in this, as if possessed of that. It diminishes 
distress, magnifies mercies, lessens grief, enlarges 
love,, contemns vanities, breathes after future bliss, rec- 
tifies* our desires, subdues our corruptions, regulates 
our inclinations, restrains our ambition, raises 
and refines our affections, removes the present world, 
and presents the world to come. By it we are refined 
in affliction, triumph in our troubles, in all our conflicts 
we are more than conquerors, and turn the battle to the 
gate. By it we listen to rebuke, are instructed by the 
rod, submissive under crosses, silent under losses, pa- 
tient in tribulation, meek under reproaches, humble, 
though exalted, forgetful of injuries, mindful of bene- 
fits, faithful to our trust, merciful to our enemies, and 
friends with the whole world. 

By it we tremble at judgments, rejoice in mercies, 
observe providences, wrestle against our unbelief, are 
grieved at our ingratitude, and struggle against our dai- 
ly failings. 

By it our souls taste divine joys, and loathe the light 
food of worldly vanities. It sweetens our sorrows, mi - 
igates our misfortunes, pierces the shadows, and seeks 
after unseen realities. Where it is implanted in the 
breast, every thing turns out to the advantage of the soul. 
The way of life, to others thorny, is flowery, and our 
path to our latter end is peace. 

What to the carnal world is a curse, is to the posses- 
sors of this precious gem a blessing. By it our pains 
are banished, our pleasures are purified, expectation 
honied, burdens lightened, weakness strengthened, 
storms scattered, and harmony diffused within. What 
a noble thing is grace, or Christ by his spirit dwelling 
in the soul 1 No wonder, then, that such a glorious 
change is made, and all to the better, so that we can 
look towards eternity undismayed, expect the awful 
judgment with unshaken faith, meet the king of ter- 
rors with undaunted courage, and have hope in the 
.expiring pang. 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 219 



Let gold be a portion to the misers, honour to the am- 
bitious, pleasures to the voluptuous, but let grace be 
mine ; for thus my afflictions are sweeter than the pros- 
perity of the wicked, my reproaches preferable to the 
applauses of a giddy world, and my very death more de- 
sirable than the life of the most splendid^ if impious 
monarch. 



MEDITATION CXV. 

LOVE AND IMMORTALITY. 

July 15, 1759, 
Welcome change, that waits to begin my happiness, 
and put a period to my complaint and pain. When this 
languor and luke-warmness shall be turned into immor- 
tality and love, I shall be all life and vigour, and this 
vigour shall be all love and praise. Novr corruption is 
a caunterbalance to my love, and mortality a clog to my 
devotion ; but then every power shall be life, every 
faculty active, every thought winged, and every motion 
heavenly- I shall praise with transport, and sing with 
rapture ; I shall adore with ecstasy, and love with de- 
light, and all this, day and night, without ever ceasing, 
or being exhausted, being then perfect in every grace, 
and immortal in every power. Receiving my fulness 
from the divine plenitude, as a pipe supplied by the 
vast ocean, I shall pour out perpetual streamy of praise, 
and torrents of love, and be more and more capacitated, 
enlarged, and replenished, by ttiis eternal employment. 
Such is the happy state my hope claims, and to 
which, one time or other, I shall attain. Then shall 
my love be wholly a vigorous immortality, and my im- 
mortality exercfsed in nothing but love. On the Sun 
of Righteousness, divinely bright, tremendously glo- 
rious, I shall fix mine eyes, which shall be strengthen- 
ed as they gaze, and never cease to behold and admire 
the divine object. I shall emulate the seraphim, and 
strive, not out of self-conceit, but from the glowings 
of sacred gratitude, the prevalency of divine love in 
my breast, to sing as loud, and love as intensely as they, 
the exalted one, whom I can call my Brother, my Hus- 
band, and my God. — I shall go out, in all the faculties > 



224} SOLITUDE sweetened; or, 

of my soul, to Him, without one moment's intermis- 
sion ; and yet mine eyes shall never be so satisfied with 
seeing, as to shut them on the glories above, nor mine 
a rfatigued with hearing the hallelujahs on high. Sleep 
shall be as foreign to my immortal perfection then, as 
it is impossible for my immortal frame to subsist with- 
out it now. There is no comma in the hosannas above ; 
no night in the years of the right hand of the Most 
High ; no interruption in the warbles of eternal noon ; 
no surfeiting on bliss, or loathing of divine love. No 
distractions shall disturb the adorers before the throne, 
where perfect love casts out fear, where bliss is as 
boundless as their wish, and measures with eternity 
itself. 

MEDITATION CXVI. 

EXTREMITIES. 

Gibraltar Bay, August 6, 1759. 

God has in all ages been pleased to let matters come 
to an extremity before he sent the deliverance; there- 
by teaching his people patience, and to hope unto the 
end ; thereby also making the deliverance more glo- 
rious, and his care of them more conspicuous, than oth- 
erwise it would have been. — Wherefore then magnify I 
$very difficulty in mine eye as a mountain that cannot 
be removed, and distrust that divine power that can do 
all things, and at the last extremity i 

Now, to dispel these dark and dismal clouds that 
hang over my mind, to my great uneasiness, let me 
glance at his divine procedure with his church and peo- 
ple, from the days of old down through many ages. 

See, then, the father of the faithful is bid -and stricken 
in years, while it ceases to be with Sarah after the man- 
ner of women, before the promised seed is horn. Yet 
that extremity is God's opportunity ; for he is born, in 
whose seed the nations should be blessed. But, again, 
young Isaac is, by divine authority, to be offered for a 
sacrifice, and that by none other than his aged, his af- 
fectionate father ! Nor are the amazing orders counter- 
manded, till the altar is reared, the wood laid in order, 
the stripling bound, and laid upon the wood, and the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 22 1 

hand stretching out the knife to give the fatai wound. 
Now, what an extremity of extremities was this ! but 
not too late for God to deliver him. — Again, wandering 
Hagar sees not the well as soon as the bottle is spent; 
but after she had laid down the parched boy, and forced 
herself a good distance from him, that she might not 
hear his mournful cries, nor see him struggling with 
the pangs of death, God opens her eyes, scatters her 
fears, and removes her sorrows. — Also just Lot makes 
his escape out of Sodom oniy on that very day in which 
it was destroyed ; and it was destroyed early in the day. 
A narrow escape indeed ! Perhaps the heavens were 
thundering round about him, the brimstone and fire 
falling behind him, while he fled ; yet he was safe 
enough under his protection, to whom extremity is the 
nobiest opportunity.— Let me also look at Jacob when 
returning home : He is distressed at his brother's meet- 
ing him in such a hostile manner ; but when he has ar- 
ranged his little company for flight, or meeting the 
armed bands, the kindly embrace removes the doubt, 
and cheers his very soul. — Joseph is to be exalted, but 
he is first sold by his brethren, then sold again as a slave, 
then a prisoner, which was like the very reverse of 
what was so near ; but, at the last extremity, when he 
could be brought no lower, he was advanced, till he 
could, as it were, be raised no higher. Even so, his 
aged father's sorrow, which had all this time mingled 
his other comforts with bitterness, is heightened by the 
story of his sons, about the rough dealings of the man 
thac was lord over Egypt : But from this very dungeon 
of wo, he is in a moment set into a palace of delight, 
when he- hears that that same governor is his own son, 
his own beloved, his long-lamented Joseph.—- Again, the 
promise is, that Israel shall be delivered from Egypt, 
and possess the promised land ; but see how -subtilely 
their enemies deal with them, and what murdering de- 
signs are formed against them i yea, when the deliver- 
ance begins to dawn, their task is doubled, and their bon- 
dage rendered next to intolerable. Such was their ex- 
tremity before they were brought out with an high hand. 
Nay, after this, their danger seems to be greater than 
ever, while, pursued by enemies, on many accounts 
more enraged than ever, they had seas before them iia- 
T 2- 



222 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

passable, and hills on every hand inaccessible; yet then 
Omnipotence is at no loss to deliver, so that seas divide, 
and are the defence of ins people, bul the destruction 
of their foes. 

This divine way of procedure, delivering in the great- 
est extremity, shines also in the whole history of the 
Judges; in the narrow escapes of flying David ; in the 
siege of Samaria, when a lord, of the same temper with 
my unbelieving heart, spoke also in a style I am too of- 
ten guilty of; in the case of the widow of Zarephath, 
whose provisions were almost spent, before the blessing 
was bestowed that multiplied them ; in the case of her 
son afterwards, and the Shunamite's who appeared be- 
yond all possibility of help, when restored to life ; in 
the sudden deliverance of Hezekiah and Jerusalem, 
from the besieging Assyrians, whose mighty men and 
leaders a mightier angel slew in one night, to an ama- 
zing number : also in the astonishing story of the three 
children, who are apprehended, bound, brought to the 
furnace, now seven times more heated for their recep- 
tion, and thrown into the flame. What can help them 
now I Yes, in the midst of the furnace they walk at lib- 
erty, in the presence of a glorious person, whose form 
is like the Son of God. Such was the remarkable de- 
liverance of pious Daniel from the lion's paw, when 
cast among their bloody jaws, and left a whole night to 
the mercy of the fierce devourers : And of Jonah from 
the swelling deep, and the fish's belly, which to him 
was as the belly of hell : And, in fine, of the Jews 
from captivity, who went even to Babylon, and there 
were delivered. All these being brought to an extrem- 
ity, perished not in it, but were delivered after a most 
glorious manner. 

This was the way he dealt with his church and people 
under the Old Testament dispensation, for many hun- 
dred years ; and it continued under the New. Hence 
see how our Lord delays his going to Lazarus, that he 
might not only relieve him from his disease, but raise 
him from the dead, which was a more glorious display 
of his divine power. — Such was his way also with Jai- 
rus' daughter, and the widow of Nairn's son, who seem- 
ed to be the captives of death, till the Lord of life com- 
manded their release, and that at a time when, for hint- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 223 

ing at it, he was laughed at as proposing a thing impos- 
sible to be done. — See how also, in the utmost extiem- 
ity of danger, he rescues his apostle Pet&ri by an angel 
from heaven, who awakes the sleeping prisoner, guides 
him through the guards, and leads him on, before whom 
the doors and gates open of their own accord, and let 
him pass into perfect liberty. 

What, then, is difficult for God ? What extremity is 
beyond the reach and strength of his arm ? Yea, since 
he is pleased to delay blessings and deliverances to the 
last, it is my duty to wait on him till the last, and to 
wait with hope, and in patience to possess my soul. 



MEDITATION CXVII. 

THE ASTONISHING PORTIONS. 

Gibraltar Bay^ August 10, 1759. 

The treasures of kings have sometimes been so vast 
as to pass into a proverb. And yet, what were they but 
gold or stones dug out of the bowels of the earth, which* 
amassed to ever so great a sum, could neither give con- 
tentment, ensure health, nor lengthen life ? But there 
is a portion of a diviner nature, and infinitely more ex- 
cellent, which falls to the share of every saint of God ; 
and he himself is this stupendous portion. " The Lord 
is my portion, saith my soul.'* 

Now, the astonishing wonder here is, that God, in all 
his perfections, should condescend, through his Son, to 
be the portion of his people. But this wonder is not 
alone, but is joined with another, that is in a manner 
more surprising still, expressed in these words : " The 
Lord's portion is his people, Israel is the lot of his in- 
heritance." 

We know how highly we esteem that which we ac- 
count our portion. And the pious breathing of tne saint 
is, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is 
none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh 
and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my 
heart, and my portion for ever." Then, may we not 
see what value he sets upon his saints, that he, who pos- 
sesses all things, and has all perfection in himself, should 
call them " his portion." 



224 solitubk sweetened; ok, 

A rich man may condescend to be the prop and friend 
of a poor man, but will scarcely allow him to be of great 
account to himself; but here it is otherwise, to the 
praise of glorious grace, which is not less aston- 
ishing in receiving than in giving. He gives the treas- 
ures of eternity, which enrich for ever; and receives 
the cyphers of time, which cannot prophet him at all. 
He gives himself to be ours in his infinite excellences 
forever, and receives us, in all our wants and infirmi- 
ties, to be his for evermore. Whether is he most glo- 
rious in accepting the lispings of faith, " Thou art my 
God," or in returning the mutual claim, " Thou art my 
people :" Because God is the portion of our soul, we 
have hope ; and because he sees the travail of his soul, 
he is satisfied. O what condescension is this, not only 
to bow down to give himself away to us, but to take us 
up to himself 1 Let philosophers dream on of ten thou- 
sand inhabited worlds, yet, among them all, the Lord's 
portion is his people, and Israel his inheritance. The 
heaven is his throne, the earth his footstool, but his por- 
tion is dearer to him than both, purchased at an amazing 
price, and preserved by almighty power, to an immen- 
sity of bliss. Precious and costly things are in the pe- 
culiar treasures of kings ; how noble, then, and excel- 
lent must Jacob be, (the choice makes it so,) whom the 
eternal King of kings hath chosen to himself for his pe- 
culiar treasure, for whom he will give men, and king- 
doms for their ransom i A^ain, a treasure is that which 
is laid up for time to come ; then God will never cast 
off his own inheritance, give up with his portion, or 
throw away his treasure, but reserve all to eternity. 
Finally, if God be the portion of his saints, why such a 
struggle to fill their coffers withperishing things ? and 
why so disquieted if they do not succeed ? 



MEDITATION CXVIII. 

noah's ark. 

Under sari, Aug* 31, 1759. 
When the ark, which had floated many a day on a 
fearful flooa, rested on the happy Ararat, and Noah, 
and the numerous creatures which were to replenish - 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 225 

the world again, had the pleasant sight of spacious 
fields, just delivered from a dreadful deluge, how vast 
must have been their joy ! And with what transport 
must they have gone forth into unbounded liberty, cal- 
led the earth their own, and appropriated the whole 
world, without any to dispute the amazing possession ! 
So, when the ark of the covenant of grace, built by a 
greater than Noah, and wherein is contained the seed 
of the new creation, shall rest on the heights of glory t 
how shall all the happy ones go forth with transport into 
the liberty of the sons of God, to possess a paradise of 
pleasure, an heaven of ecstasy, and a world of bliss ! 
And though they shall never go out of the covenant 
through eternity, yet, so to speak, they shall spread 
abroad to people the heavenly C n^n, and possess the 
many mansions that are in their Father's house. 

Here, in the covenant, we are borne above the floods ; 
for the curse, like a deluge, overspreads the whole 
world, so that all are in a perishing condition, but such 
as are got within the ark ! and in a little, when the 
great deeps of eternity shall be ooened, the floods of 
vengeance swelling high shall sweep the whole unbe- 
lieving world into oceans of eternal wrath. It is true, 
indeed, our safety is the same, being interested in him 
whom the Father has given for a covenant to the peo- 
ple, whether the ark be floating on the waters, or set 
down or, the stable mountain's top ; but there is a dif- 
ference between fluctuating on the waters of adversity* 
and sitting 1 down on the mountains of bliss, in the pre- 
sence of Jehovah dnd the Lamb. 

Again, as their safety was secured, and their provi- 
sion plenteous m tne ark of old; so, in the New Tes- 
tament ark, we are secure, being hidden in him who 
sits on the floods, and governs in the storms, and who 
will never *et the deluge overthrow his own, but cause 
them to swim safely amongst the rending biljovvs, and 
walk securely, as Israel of old, amidst devouring deeps. 
And our provision is not only plenteous and profuse, 
but spiritual and divine. 

Besides, in this ark, by the eye of faith, even while 
the deluge is not wholly gone, we get, which Noah 
couid not boast of, reviving views of the tops of the 
eternal mountains, and gladdening glances ©f the heights 
of glory. 



226 SOLITUDE SWEETENER ; OR, 

Again, when the flood of wrath shall be at the high- 
est with all the wicked world, our ark shall sit down 
on the celestial Ararat. Then, as Noah sacrificed to 
God when he was gone forth of the ark, which he could 
not do while in it ; so, in that triumphant state of glory, 
we shall worship him in a manner to which we never 
could attain in the militant state ; and, to our eternal 
joy, shall look up and see the " rainbow about the 
throne,,*' in its most beauteous colours, showing, as it 
shines, that the flood of divine wrath, which once pur- 
sued the human race to swallow up all who had not fled 
to the sacred ark for safety, shall never return again to 
swallow up the ransomed nations. Then, dwelling in 
that land where " there is no more sea," we shaii walk 
at liberty, enjoying beatitudes unlimited as our thought, 
and extensive as conception itself; and through the un- 
numbered years of his right hand, we shall proclaim 
the compassion, and dwell upon the love of him who 
was himself our divine, our glorious ark, that bare us 
above the waves of vengeance, (though, to perform 
that kind office, he himself for a while was carried "in- 
to deep waters, where the floods overflowed him,"jand 
brought us into his presence, where rivers of pleasures 
Sow for evermore. 



MEDITATION CXIX. 

ACQUAINTANCE. 

SpitheacL September 25, 1759. 
We are fond of contracting acquaintance with great 
and tamo us men, and sometimes lament the death of 
some beiore we were born, and our distance from oth- 
ers while we live. What pleasure wouid it afford me, 
had 1 known the first worthies of the world ! To have 
had an hour's company and conversation with the first 
man, the father of us ail ;. to have been acquainted with 
the divine Enoch, who was wafted deathless to glory ; 
with Noah, the preacher of righteousness ; with Abra- 
ham, 'the father of the faithful ; with Moses, the man of 
God ; with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of one and the same 
promise ; with the deeply depressed, and highly-advan- 
ced Joseph ; with Elijah and Elisha ; witj> Samuel, Da- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS^ 227 

vid, and Solomon ; in a word, with all the prophets, 
apostles, evangelists, and martyrs, and all the New- 
Testament worthies down to the present times : I say, 
to have been acquainted with all these great men, what 
secret pleasure would it afford 1 What instruction from 
their conversation, and what joy to behold so many spark- 
ling graces in each of them ! But this is what can nev- 
er happen ; yet there is one thought that abundantly 
supplies the loss. That all those who are united in the 
liwng Head shall meet together in the general assem- 
bly and church of the first-born. 

There shall I see Adam, not in that melting anguish 
he sustained when driven out of the terrestrial para- 
dise, but with a fulness of joy proper to one entered in- 
to the heavenly paradise for eternity : There shall I see 
Enoch walking in veiy deed with God, and enjoying 
eternally and uninterruptedly that communion he de- 
lighted in below : There shall I see Noah, not preach- 
ing to an inattentive world, but praising in concert with 
all those that in the ark of the covenant were saved from 
the flood of wrath that swept away the wicked : There 
shall I see Abraham, not travelling to the mountains 
of Moriah to offer up his son, but dwelling in the mount 
of God to offer up his song, hissacriiice of praise, pos- 
sessed of greater glory, and more noble blessings, than 
^even his strongest faith ever could expect: Therj shall 
1 see Isaac and Jacob, not sojourning in a strange land, 
but dwelling in Immanuel's land, witiiout any more re- 
moving to and fro : There shall I see Joseph, not in 
that anguish of spirit he was in when soid for a slave. 
but in a nobler condition than when governor over 
Egypt : There shall 1 see Moses, not struggling with 
a rebellious Israel in an howling wilderness, but tri- 
umphing with the true Israel, in whom iniquity is not 
beheld, and entered on the possession of the heavenly 
Canaan for eternity : There shall I see, also, Samuel 
the reformer, David the upright, and Solomon the wise, 
with all the prophets and apostles, the evangelists and 
martyrs, shining with additional lustre, and inconceiv- 
able glory. Yea, not one of all the saints or God, though 
the names of thousands of them were never heard of in 
the world, but I shall be acquainted with, and know all 
about them that can set forth the glory of God, and the 



223 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

praises of redeeming love. I shall know who and what 
they were in the world, whence they came, and what 
they suffered for his name's sake. 

Had I been acquainted with them in their imperfect 
state, either corruption in them might have restrained 
my regard toward them, or corruption in me might have 
deadened my affection for them ; but my acquaintance 
^wilh them shall be when they and I also have put off all 
corruption, and are spotless as the angels of light. 
How is it, then, that I have concluded all the worthies 
of the old world as gone from me for ever, when in a 
little, I shall come into their company, into their as- 
sembly, to depart no more ? Furiher, what will sweet- 
en all, is, that my acquaintance with them shall be in 
and through Christ, in whom all his saints are one ; uttd 
my delight in them will spring from their resemblance 
to Christ, and rise according to the degree of that. 
Then, like so many stars, they shall reflect the glory of 
the Sun of Righteousness ; and he that reflects most 
glory shall be the brightest star. Besides, as the Lamb 
is the light of the holy city, so he shall be the fulness of 
the higher house, replenishing all the inhabitants, who 
shall have Christ in them, once " the hope," but then 
the harvest " of glory," and with them as such shall I 
be acquainted. Hence shall Christ be to every one all 
in all, even in their delight in, and acquaintance with, 
one another ; because, loving him that begets, supreme- 
ly and eternally, they cannot but love them that are be- 
gotten after the same divine likeness. 

What a friendly office, then, (though to the greater 
part unwelcome, does death, in the hand of Christ per- 
form to his chosen, in convening the saints together 
from remotest corners, scattered kingdoms, and distant 
ages, and, with a smiling countenance, ushering them, 
not only into the presence of one another, but into the 
presence of their Lord ! 

On the other hand, how miserable must the wicked 
be, whose acquaintance with the great, of which they 
are now so proud, at the hour of death shall cease for 
ever ! for beings in torment can be. no entertaining com- 
pany to one another, but, by being once companions in 
sin, shall mutually screw up their horror, and whet their 
anguish for ever. 



ELLANEOTJS MEDITATIONS. 229 

MEDITATION CXX. 

AN ARGUMENT. 

In harbour, Oct. 3, 1759. 
Would a man -of any spirit be cast down for an ex- 
tremity of distress, enduring but for a day, if assured 
that his whole after-life should be felicity and peace ? 
Though for this short time he were hungry, thirsty, na- 
ked, imprisoned, reproached, reviled, envied, hated, 
contemned, ridiculed by flatterers, abandoned by friends, 
insulted by foes, and made the gazing-stock of all ; yet, 
would not the certain knowledge of so sudden a change 
in his favour take off the edge of all ? Would not the 
forethought of the sumptuous table at which he should 
ever sit, and the generous wine that should go around, 
abate his hunger, and allay his thirst ? Would not the 
idea of his genteel dress take away the shame of his 
rags ? and his uncon'iined liberty render supportable 
his few hours confinement ? and that renown, love, and 
respect, which he should in a little be possessed of, take 
away the anguish that might arise from the opposite 
insults ? 

Now, O saint ! thy case at the worst can be no worse 
than this, to suffer, through the short day of thy lite, 
much tribulation, and many afflictions ; much distress 
and many troubles ; yea, though some singular distress, 
as war, persecution, or pestilence, should bring thy 
death along with it, yet thy state is secured, and thine 
exit is into eternal glory. What ! should poverty make 
any impression on thy mind, who art an heir of God, 
and joint-heir with Christ; who shait walk on streets 
of gold, nor regard the sparkling pavement ? Should 
imprisonment trouble thee, who shait walk at liberty in 
the paradise of God through eternal day ? Should uhame 
produce a blush in thy countenance, who shait be con- 
fessed by thy divine Master before his heavenly Father, 
and all his holy angels ; Should want of any kind affect 
thee, who art compete in Him in whom the fulness of 
the Godhead dwells ? Should disappointments, repeat- 
ed, aggravated, disappointments, deject thee whose 
assured Friend governs the universe, and neve/ will 
forget, never will forsake thee f In a word, shou d y 
cross events in time distract thee, who hast an eternity 

U 



230 solitude sweetened; on, 

of felicity before thee, where thy happiness shall stretch 
beyond thy most extensive thoughts r 

Take the scales and balances, then, and sit down and 
weigh the lightness of thy troubles, the transitoriness 
of thine afflictions, (even allowing them to harass thee 
through thy whole life, which is not one day, one min- 
ute, or one moment, to eternity,) and that boundless, 
Ineffable bliss, that awaits thy better life, thine immor- 
tal state in the invisible world, and say, if that ingenu- 
ity, which should be inseparable from an expectant of 
glory, be in thee, whether fits of despondency for any 
thing that can befal thee in this worid, or songs of 
praise for that nameless immense all that is reserved 
for thee in the world to come, be most proper to thy 
present state ? 



MEDITATION CXXI. 

ON BEING ILL USED. 

Spithead, Oct. 18, 1759. 
Surely I forget myself, and the place of my abode, 
else I should not take it in bad part to be ill used in 
such a world as this. Would I have at once the smiles 
of Heaven and the caresses of the earth ? It is very fair 
that I get through the enemy's country with the life, 
though now and then I suffer loss. I must not be sur- 
prised that I suffer, though innocent : for none were 
ever so innocent as our blessed Lord, yet none suffer- 
ed more than did the Prince of innocence. " It is 
enough fcr the disciple that he be as his master, and 
the servant as his lord. If they have called the master 
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they 
call them of his household ?" Why am I astonished at 
an usage which my Lord not only met with himself, but 
assured all his discipies that they should experience ? 
How is it that I have fallen into this fond delusion, 
dreaming that nothing should hurt me while I was en- 
deavouring to walk uprightly with him before whom are 
all my ways, and forgetting that often the saints have 
suffered for following after what is good ? I am yet in 
the world, and the god of this world is not my God, 
nor the men of this worid my brethren ; therefore no 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 231 

wonder that the world hate what is not its own. For 
shame ! have I taken it amiss, that a few drops of that 
shower of malice and envy which poured in full flood 
on the glorious Head, should fall on an unworthy mem- 
ber ? How have 1 forgotten to imitate the divine pattern 
of humility, who, when he was reviled, reviled not 
again ; when blasphemed, replied with meekness, in- 
terceded for his murderers, and prayed for his most fla- 
gitious foes ! O to be more and more self-denied 1 If 
once I thought as little of myself as I ought, I should 
not think much of being treated with indignity, and u- 
sed contemptuously by others. 

Though 1 may have recourse to the law for my pro- 
tection and defence, yet surely it is often my duty to say ? 
like humble David, " Let him curse, for the Lord hath 
bidden him." How divinely sweet is the inspired ad- 
vice, " Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves but rath- 
er give place unto wrath !" Ah 1 says corrupt nature, 
must I tamely see myself abused, and not resent it? 
Must I not stand tm my own defence, and return his 
wickedness on his own head ? No, says the apostle ; 
vengeance belongeth not to you ; i% for it is written, 
Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay;" 
therefore let the matter alone, leave it to God, who 
knows when and how to plead thy quarrel against thine 
adversaries ; and show thou the excellency of the Chris- 
tian religion, by feeding thine enemy when hungry and 
giving him to drink when thirsty, till thou hast won 
him from his spleen ; but, if he still retain his invete- 
rate malice, thy kindly acts will heap coals of fire upon 
his head. Then, let my behaviour be such as is here 
enjoined, while, with the psalmist, I say, " Let them 
curse, but bless thou ;" keeping ever fixed in thy mind 
this maxim, That a greater pleasure springs from a 
free and frank forgiveness of injuries to the sanctified 
soul, than the most choleric breast can feel in the most 
sanguine revenge. 

Has not the sun often shed his cloudless beams on 
them who blasphemed their Maker ? Have not the 
clouds many a time watered their fields who never ac-? 
knowledged the divine munificence ? And has not all 
nature poured forth her riches, times innumerable, to» 
those who walked contrary to the God of nature ? Came 



232 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J Oft ? 

these things by chance ? No. They were the effects of 
his unbounded goodness, which teems divinely free and 
vastly fuil on all, in spite of the ingratitude of the 
wicked, in spite of the daring impiety of the unjust ; 
no less showing himself God in his conduct with the 
world, than in his creation of the world. Copy, then, 
irjy soul, this amiable perfection. Deal with the whole 
world, as if every one were thy brother, or thy friend j 
and though they may forfeit the name, let them never 
forfeit thy kind regard. As the sun changes not his 
course, though bursting clouds and bellowing thunders 
fight below; so, if thou move in the celestial sphere 
ol practical religion, then wilt never omit the duties of 
a Christian to any, the ugh all sb.ouid commit the hos- 
tilities cf ail heathen towards thee. Let not the dis- 
tress of thine enemy afford thee delight, nor the mis- 
fortunes of thy inveterate foe infuse a secret pleasure. 
Sympathise with him in his calamity who could laugh 
at thine ; and, as far as is consistent with truth, preserve 
his good name, who, to the wounding of iruih, has rob- 
bed thee of thine. Remember benefits, forget injuries, 
forgive reproachful tongues, overlook affronts, wish 
well to every individual, pray for all for whom prayer 
eught to be made, and be a child of God in temper and 
conduct, in spite of corrupt nature, earth, and hell* 
aiming at perfection, as thy Father which is in heaven itu 
perfect. 



MEDITATION CXXII. 

THE BIBLE A STOREHOUSE OF INSTRUCTIONS, 

Quibercn Bay^ Jan, 23, 1759. 
Man is not only a worm as to his extract, but a beast 
as to his knowledge ; hence, the most sagacious of 
Adam's sons, would be but fools in things that concern 
them most, without this divine monitor, the Scripture. 
Here I am informed when the world -began, and wno 
was my first parent, the grand representative and fede- 
ral head of ail his offspring ; how sin and death entered 
into the world, and how both are done away. Hence 
the mystery of a three-one God shines with awful efful- 
gence ; while the glorious, amiable, and divine work of 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 23$ 

redemption, darts comfort and surprise on the enraptur- 
ed inquirer. By the scriptures of truth, the concerns 
of a future world are clearly presented to me. Would 
I be a member of Christ, and have his righteousness 
made mine ? Well, they tell me how I may become 
the one, and be clothed with the other. Would I flee 
from the wrath to come ? Here the way lies plain, and 
the place where I can be safe. If sin press hainl upon 
me, they show me where to cast my sins ; if short-com- 
ings and weakness vex me, whence to draw my strength, 
and in whom I am complete. They counsel me in my 
doubts, and shine upon my darkness. Not a calamity 
can I be in, but they can cheer. Not a step I need to 
take but they can direct. Am I a son of Zion ? Then 
I am to seek her peace, her w r elfare, and prosperity.— 
Is the church in distress •? I am to give God no rest till 
he establish her, and make her a praise through the 
whole earth. — Does he hide his face from me ? Then I 
am to seek, nor cease to seek him, till I find the Belov- 
ed of my soul.— Do I pine by his blow ? Yet at the work 
of his hand I am to be dumb. — Does he remove my re- 
lations by death ? Still I am to hold my peuce, and even 
subscribe Amen. — Am I injured I That I am to forgive. 
— Am I reproached ? This I am to pass by. — Do men 
despitefully use me ? For them I am to pray. — Must I 
remove from this world ? Then I am to pass my time 
only as a sojourner, not a fixed inhabitant.— Do I enjoy 
human society 1 That is to be improved in speaking on 
divine things. — Am I among sinners ? Then I am t© re- 
prove. — Among saints ? These I am to imitate. — Have 
I an house ? It is to be a place of righteousness — Have 
I a family ? They and I, whatever others do, are to serve ■ 
the Lord. 

Again, am I sorrowful? I am to pray.— Am I in 
severe afflictions ? Yet then in patience 1 am to possess 
my soul. — Am I in a warfare ? I am 10 take to myself 
the whole armour of God. — Have 1 tribulations? In 
and under them I am still to rejoice. — Am I poor ? I 
am to seek for my riches that treasure that is eternal in 
the heavens. — Have I riches ? In them I am not to trust, 
but in the living God, who gives me all things richly 
to enjoy. — Do I rejoice ? It is to be only in the Lord. — * 
Ami merry ? I am to sing psalms,— Have I affections ■? 
U 2 



234 S#LITUBE SWEETENEB ; OH, 

They are to be set on things above. My conversation 
is to be in heaven, and my soul a temple for the Holy 
Ghost to dwell in. Here parents and children, masters 
and servants, and every relation, are clearly instructed 
in their relative duties to one another. Here the King 
is taught how to reign, and the subject how to obey ; 
the judge how to conduct every trial, and how to pass 
sentence ; the sinner how to become a saint, and the 
saint how to grow in every grace. 

Here I am instructed what company to choose, what 
so shun ; whom to esteem and delight in, whom to pity, 
and for whom to pray. Here I am admonished how to 
behave as a public or private person towards men of ev- 
ery rank, in peace or war, as victor or vanquished. 
Here are the infallible rules whereby I may know the 
state of my soul, and if my claim for future bliss be well 
grounded, or founded on delusive dreams. Here I learn 
for what to care, and how to estimate created things, 
and all the gaudy pomp of time. In a word, here I am 
taught how to have my conversation in heaven, while 
on earth, to ripen for glory, and enlarge for God. 



MEDITATION CXXIII. 

ASSURANCE. 

Should not the folly of the world teach me wisdom ? 
They provide for time, and shall I not provide for eter- 
nity I But, how shall I secure endless felicity, and know 
my interest in unchangeable love ? 

Well, then, may not I, in the language of faith, ar- 
gue myself into a firm belief of eternal bliss ? and, 
without delusion, fortify myself against the attacks of 
sin, and sallies of unbelief ? — Is not Christ come to 
seek and save the lost ? and am not I among the num- 
ber, and willing to be sought and saved ? — Is not the 
call to all the sons of men without exception ? Why, 
then, not obey it without contradiction ? — Am not I 
commanded to believe and be saved ? Then, have I nev- 
er believed as yet, or am I determined never to believe ? 
No; " Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief* 1 ? — 
Further, has my faith the marks ot true faith ? Is it a 
faith that purifies the heart, and aims at holiness in life? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 235 

Have I accepted of Christ on his own terms : of a whole 
and complete Saviour ? Then true faith can never be 
disappointed, nor the true believer fall finally away, for 
" fakh is the gift of God," and " the gifts and calling 
of God are without repentance." 

Now, from the foot of the ladder I ascend, and climb 
the sacred steps, till I reach the throne of God, and 
read the secrets of eternity, the records of redeeming 
love. Hence, if my daily burden be indwelling sin, and 
if I strive against the tyrant raging in my breast, in such 
a manner, that what I do I allow not, this is a sign of 
the new nature ; for light and darkness cannot dwell 
together in perfect peace, but darkness and darkness 
struggle not together. Now, will not this say, that I 
am partly sanctified; and if sanctified, that I am justi- 
fied ; and if justified, that I am predestinated ; and if 
predestinated, that I by name am foreknown in the de- 
cree of election ? Now, am 1 not as sure of salvation, 
as if I were in heaven already ? Can the purpose of God 
'be disannulled ? Can the faithfulness of God fail ? 

I may doubt and be in the dark again, respecting my 
clearness to my claim, but he will never deny himself. 
Heaven and earth may, yea, shall pass away, but his 
purposes of love, and promises of grace, shall stand. 
Can I not trust God in time for the completing of my 
promised happiness when time shall be no more, as well 
as trust him for the continuation of my consummate 
felicity in heaven, through eternity itself? Can times 
and dates, periods and aeras, make any change on God ! 
No, all is eternity with the unchangeable Jehovah ; fly- 
ing time only respects frail and dying creatures, such 
as I am. If, then, I have an interest in his love now, I 
shali have it for ever ; for though death tears my soul 
and body asunder, it shall not touch my state, nor se- 
parate me from his love. Now, what would faith, nay, 
what would sense have more ? 

But, there is another security given to mine eternal 
bliss ; for I am elected " in the Beloved." Now, hea- 
en and eternity would look strange to the beiievers, it 
their best friend were not there ; and empty to Christ, 
if his costly purchase was not there. Yea, my happi- 
ness is, as it were, connected with the happiness of the 
man Christ. Novv 5 the Son is eternally united to the 






23S solitude sweetened; or, 

human nature, as Mediator; and there is no jarring be- 
twixt the human and divine natures, in the person of 
the Son. There being, therefore a sacred oneness be- 
tween the glorious Head and all his members, there is 
also a commonness of felicity, among them ; so that 
the glory which the Father gives to Christ, he gives to 
his disciples, and into the very joy of their Lord all his 
followers enter. Therefore, in and with an exalted and 
glorified Jesus, I shall be eternally blessed. Now, un- 
less I be afraid that Christ mystical can be divided, the 
divine attributes set a jarring,, the hypo statical union 
dissolved, the covenant of grace disannulled, and the 
eternal decrees broken, I may rest in the sweetest as- 
surance of divine favour, in spite of all the blasts that 
earth and hell, and sin and unbelief, can raise. 

— o+o~- 

MEDITATION CXX1V. 

OUR MEDITATIONS CHAMPED, UNLESS STRETCHED 
BEYOND DEA1H. 

1761. 

Would any man envy that person's situation as su- 
perlatively happy, who were confined to a garden, beau- 
tified indeed with all the varieties of nature, and dec- 
orated with all the ornaments of art, if its walls w r cre 
high to heaven, so that he could not casta look beyond 
therr, but must remain a stranger to the whole world, 
except his own family, not being indulged with a single 
glance of the spacious plains that border on him, the 
shady forests, and the mui muring streams, the mighty 
oceans, and magnificent kingdoms, scattered on the lace 
of the globe, and so could neither exuit in the felicity, 
nor sympathize with the affliction, of any tribe of men ? 
Yet this man would be far more happy, (as here he might 
remember his latter end,) than he that dares not 100k 
beyond death, that will not think on a world to come. 

How is he cooped up, that can only reflect on the 
few scenes that are past, or revolve in his mind those 
which are expected to take place during a present, but 
transitory iii'c ! How is he straitened in his acquaint- 
ance, though a courtier, though a king, who only 
knows and is known among the perishing sons of ciajj 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 23f 

but never lets his thoughts penetrate in the world of 
spirits, or rise to the Father of lights I Such a man, 
whatever he be in this world, is to be deplored, not im- 
itated : pitited, not envied. 

If the dissolving- pangs sets a bound to my medita- 
tions, I am of all meditants most miserable ; but if I 
can transpierce the shadows of death through a well- 
grounded faith in Christ, and rise into the broad day of 
eternity, to breathe there as in a native air, then every 
thought triumphs, and my whole soui is joyful and se- 
rene; for thus 1 may smile in the face of impending ruin, 
knowing that my treasure is on high. Thus may 1,_ un- 
disturbed, stand the overthrow of thrones, being assur? 
ed that the thione of God my Saviour is established of 
old, and stands for ever sure. Thus may I get fore- 
tastes of the bliss, preiibations of the banquet above. 

Now, my state must be either thus happy, or else of 
such a terrible extreme, that when i look towards death, 
I am troubled ; towards judgment, I am terrified ; to- 
wards God, I tremble ; and towards eternity., I am lost 
in astonishment and anguish. But happy condition ! 
if I can look on this world as my pilgrimage and pris- 
on, and on death as the door through which I shah en- 
ter into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ; and if 
even now, by meditating on the exercise that employs) 
the cnurch of the first-born, the divine communion they 
are admitted to, the beatitudes they enjoy, Mid the glo- 
ries they behold, I familiarise the unseen world to my 
soul, and contract acquaintance in eternity itself. 



MEDITATION CXXV. 

HOW TO BE RICH IN HEAVEN. 

Sefif. 25, 1768. 
If it is prudent to provide for the lime to come, how 
much more so to provide for eternity ! While to be rich 
in this world is the passion of thousands, to be rich in 
the next be mine. An appetite after earthly grandeur, 
bewrays a mean spirit, and a base soul ; but an ambition 
to be great in heaven, is worthy of an heir of God, of 
an expectant of glory : For it is to the honor of the su- 
preme Potentate, that all his subjects be nobles,, be 
priests, be kings. 



23S SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OH, 

In this short lifetime is the foundation laid of things 
of eternal moment, and the wisdom that is from above 
will teach me to send all my treasures thither. It de- 
serves Utile or no pity to be poor in this world, but pov- 
erty in the other is deplorable beyond the reach of com- 
passion. Temporal losses may distress me ; but such 
is the brevity of life, that while I complain I expire, 
and then I am possessed of ail the treasures of glory, 
©f all the fulness of God. And yet, according to the 
capacity of glorified saints, shall that sam* undiminish- 
ed fulness be possessed in greater or lesser degree. 

" How rich died he ?" is the speech of fools at the de- 
cease of an acquaintance or friend. But none ever die 
rich but the saints ; for, how can that man be said to die 
rich, when the very moment of his dissolution robs him 
of his all ? 

" Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven," is the 
admonition of the dear Redeemer. Let me, then, lay 
down an imperfect plan to myself, how to be rich for 
eternity. 

1. Then, presupposing that I am in a gracious state, 
I must have a Christian contempt of the world. No 
man ever filled his coffers w r ith sand ; no monarch ever 
wore the pebble in his crown ; so the soul that lays up 
his treasures in heaven, will not concern himself with" 
perishing triBes. If my affections are not weaned from 
the creature, and set on things above, I shall be but 
poor in the world of spirits. 

2. I must be watchful in ail things. The man that is 
anxious to be rich will not waste a penny ; so must I 
watch mine actions, my thoughts, my words. — Again, 
I must watch for God, against ail my secret sins, and 
also to reprove the transgressor. A bold and sincere 
reproof of sin, is a stroke against the enemies of the 
King, from which a palm of victory shall spring in the 
world of glory. I must also speak in commendation of 
the good land, that others may be encouraged to set out 
for the land of promise. And could I bring the whole 
world with me, I should be more welcome to the seats 
of bliss. — Again, I must watch against carnal sorrow. 
Should the heir of a crown lament the loss of afeatheF I 
What can death do in his family who is the resurrec- 
tion and the life ? It may separate them a little while? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 239 

but it is only to meet again for ever. — Worldly riches 
give their owners joy, but joy in the Lord increases 
spiritual riches. So I must guard against carnal de- 
light ; none of the gay things of time must be objects 
of my affection. It would be mean for a noble person- 
age to be charmed with a stable, who has a palace pre- 
pared for him ; mean for an heir of God to sit clown and 
feed on the refuse of the creation. — Again, I must be- 
ware of carnal company. These are bankrupts that 
will spend at my expense, and whatever loss I make by 
them, yet in their company I shall never be abie to add 
a mite to my celestial treasure. How can I be safe 
among robbers ? They may rob me of a good frame, 
wound my conscience, and at last leave me with a bleed- 
ing heart, which may pain me many days. 

3. To grow rich for the world to come, I must study 
to be heavenly-minded, not by fits and starts, but in one 
constant, steady, holy frame of spirit. Thus every du- 
ty will be my delight ; prayer and praise, like my daily 
food, always pleasant ; attendance on the public ordi- 
nances, like walking in the King's palace-garden ; read- 
ing the Scriptures, like conferring with the dearest 
friend; and self-examination, like the merchant from a 
far country, counting over his rich jewels and precious 
gems, inspecting his gold and silver, that it have the 
king's stamp, and so be sterling money ; that his gra- 
ces, his duties, his attainments, are approved by Scrip- 
ture and conscience. 

4. Holy meditations will mightily augment the spir- 
itual riches. To find God in all things, and at all times, 
in all places, and in all providences, will enrich my soul 
for eternity. To find his power in this, his wisdom in 
that, and his goodness in ail, will greatly improve my 
inquiring, my admiring soul. Meditating much, med- 
itating often, meditating with delight, on him in whom 
are hid the treasures of wisdom, is a noble way to en- 
rich me for a future world. 

5. To be rich in the better country, I must heartily 
study to approve of all the dispensations of Providence ; 
though not insensible when he frowns, or when he 
smiles. When the soul of the Christian, with a filial 
resignation, p.cquiesces in the conduct of his Almighty 
Father, however cross to flesh and blood, and, in the 



U40 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

midst of all commotions, reposes himself on his un- 
changeable love, he takes deep root for eternity ; while 
fear and unbelief toss the unstable, like a rolling thing 
before the whirlwind. It is proper only to children, 
not to men, to be peevish for toys and trifles; so let the 
men of this world lament the loss of worldly things, 
but let the heirs of God, the joint heirs with Christ, 
rejoice that the treasures of eternity are theirs. 

6. To be rich unto God, and for eternity, I must act 
strong faith on the Rock of ages; for it is from the 
spoils of battles won by faith, that I amass riehes for 
the invisible world. Faith reiving on a reconciled God 
in all his attributes and perfections, on Jesus in all his 
offices arid relations, on the Holy Ghost in all his graces 
and operations, must remove mountains of difficulty, 
pluck up trees of corruption, pulldown strong-holds of 
-sin, wrestle against principalities and powers, and be 
more than conqueror at last, through her all-glorious 
Author and Finisher. 

7. I must also redeem time, and improve time ; re- 
deem time from this world, and improve it for the world 
to come. The man of business will be loth to lose a 
change-hour for any trifling amusement ; and the soul 
that would be busy for eternity, should look on every 
hour as his last hour, and should avoid excess of sloth 
and slumber. Vain amusements, impertinent employ- 
ments, are cruel moths of time ; and time is to be hus- 
banded, though worlds should be squandered away. As 
the jeweller deals with gold, so must I with time ; he is 
careful about the filings, and loses nothing; so should 
I about the smallest divisions of time, the hour, the 
minute, the moment. It never made a dying person's 
bed thorn ey, that, by a bad bargain/ he lost such and 
such a sum ; but mispent time has made the dying mo- 
ments of many dismal beyond expression. 

S. To be rich in the world to come, I must have an 
intense love towards God and heavenly things. The 
men that love the world, pant after t\\a di 
world, and spare no pains to be rich in the 
man will never toii himself to gather what he 
so, unless I prefer heaverdy things to earthly, 
never seek to fill my treasure with invisible excelienc< 
t; He that loveth silver," says the wise man* " shall -not 




MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 241 

be satisfied with silver ; nor he that loveth abundance 
with increase/' But he that loveth God shall be sat- 
is'fied with God, and entranced with the exuberant ful- 
ness of the covenant. 

9. To be rich indeed at last, I must endeavour to 
maintain communion with God now. To have fellow- 
ship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, 
in all his divine fulness, his glorious perfections, and 
his gracious ways, is the most enriching course that I 
can carry on below. Every moment of divine inter- 
course would be sinking another sum in the bank of 
heaven, so that I should be wondrous rich at last. He 
that quits the Indies for Europe, sends his treasures 
before him ; then, though he be poor at his departure 
from the one country, yet he is rich on his arrival at the 
other ; so, well were it with me, if I could detach my 
thoughts and meditations, my care and affections, my 
joy and delight, my hope and expectation, from this 
perishing world, and centre them on the invisible 
-world. 

10. In a word, to abound in all things in the better 
country, I must make God my all in all, and just sit 
down and wonder at the overflowing treasure, till my 
mouldering clay let my immortal soul fly hence to com- 
mence immensely rich in heaven, in the possession of 
his infinite self, world without end. 

MEDITATION CXXVI. 

REVENGE REJECTED. 

Oct. 12,. 1771. 
Such is the corruption of human nature, such is the 
weakness of grace in this imperfect state, that, though 
Hie most part of Christians can act the Christian in 
some things, it is rare to find the man who can act the 
Christian in all things. When we are only spectators 
of the conduct of others, it is easy to prescribe, like 
an apostle, and enforce the golden rules of the gospel ; 
but, when it toucheth our very selves, we are troubled. 
A beam can lie concealed in our own eye, while a mote 
is clearly seen ig^ur neighbour's. I am a man, a sin- 
ner; and to guafd against sinful sallies of passion is 

W 



242 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

the design of this meditation ; since, being a man, I 
must expect to suffer from one hand or other ; and be- 
ing a sinful man, under my sufferings I may sin. 

The malice I have an eye to is causeless, cruel, riv- 
etted, and unrelenting, so that my natural spirits boil 
at the remembrance, and breathe retaliation to the guil- 
ty. But the character of the Christian is meekness, 
and the person who expects to arrive at heaven, must 
have his conversation in heaven, even while dwelling 
on the confines, and contending with the fire-brands 
Of hell. 

The precept and example of the King of saints shall 
ever be my pattern in the militant state, " Love your 
enemies," says the non-such Teacher; and " let me 
heal his ear, that lost it while leading on the unhallow- 
ed crowd to apprehend me as a thief," says the divine 
Redeemer. These are lessons worthy of a God to give, 
and worthy of all the sons of God to imitate. The mil- 
itary hero, under the eye and by the command of his 
prince, scales walls, takes cities, runs in the face of 
danger, and defies death itself; and so the Christian 
hero, prompted by the presence and the precept of 
Heaven, should study to conquer sclfi and alt is won. 
" Love the brotherhood," says an apostle ; I hear all 
the saints add Amen, for " we know that we are passed 
from death to life, because we love the brethren." But 
" love your enemies," (I feel corrupt nature reluctant!) 
is the I say of the great Apostle and High "Priest of our 
profession ; and to do so would prove, not only that we 
are passed from death to life, but that^grace is very 
lively. 

It is a shame for me to take so far amiss, or dwell so 
much on, what a fellow- creature, who is on the same 
level, or only a little superior to me, has clone to me, 
and yet never reflect on my offence against God, wher 
is infinitely exalted above me, beyond conception and 
thought. If I am injured, the law is broken ; if the 
law is broken, God is dishonoured ; and that God is 
dishonoured, and not that I am injured, should be the 
cause of my sorrow, and the burden of my soul. He 
cannot greatly offend against me, though he should 
spue out his bitterest malice ; for it matters not, though 
the potsherds of the earth, while striving with the pot- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 243 

sherds of the earth, should go all to shivers; but I shall 
greatly offend against God, who is over all blessed for 
ever, if I render evil for evil, since he has expressly 
forbidden it. 

How often have I wasted precious time, by revolving 
in my mind all the aggravations of my injurious treat- 
ment, forgetful that every day I have offended God in a 
much greater degree ! forgetful, also, that I have daily 
received from him such tender mercies as might make 
me forget all the mischief that my fellow-creatures could 
do to me. That malice must owe its birth to hell, that 
could wish the hated persons condemned to everlasting 
flames ; and I aver that there is not a saint on the foot- 
stool, but can wish his greatest enemy a share in the 
common salvation, and a mansion in the highest heav- 
ens. How mean, how inconsistent, then, to wish him 
a kingdom and a crown, and yet that he may nave a thorn 
in his foot, (trouble in person, family, character, or es- 
tate,) while travelling thither. 

" Follow peace with all men," enemies not excepted, 
Though some individuals break this command with re- 
spect to me, yet I am not less bound to observe it to- 
wards them. Moreover, why should I, who have peace 
with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, peace of 
conscience, and shall shortly enter into an eternity of 
peace, have an uproar of war kindled in all the powers 
of my soul, by the impotent bravadoes of a worm ? Sup- 
pose there is nothing engaging, nothing amiable about 
my opponent, that can make me love him for his own 
sake, yet I am to love him for God's sake, because by- 
God commanded so to do. " God is love ;** this the 
whole creation knows, while his sun shines on the evil 
and the good, and his rain falls on the just and the un- 
just ; and " he that dweileth in love, dwelleth in God." 
Shall any temptation, shall any unjust usage, provoke 
me from my high abode to sit down on the dunghill of 
anger and revenge ? Whenever I cease to dwell in love, 
and to be all love to friends and foes, (no matter how 
they have used me,) then I cease to dwell in God. 
And this is as if a royal personage should descend from 
his throne, and wade to his arm-pits in a puddle to pur- 
sue a fly, or kill a frog. With what a strange appear- 
ance would he again ascend his throne ! And how shall 



244 SOLITUDE SWEETENEB ; &R 9 

I return from a worse situation to my divine dwelling* 
place ? 

Again, have I never received any favours or benefits 
from him I or, have there never been acts of friendship 
between us ? Why, then, is all this forgot in the heat 
of my wrath ? It should be my study, and would be my 
glory, never to forget a kindness, never to remember 
an injury. This may be called a mean spirit by the 
world, but I am sure it is the spirit of Christianity. More- 
over, can I suppose myself so perfect, as to receive so 
much ill usage, and return none ? Then, if I have said 
or done aught amiss in the excess of my passion as no 
doubt I have, should not I make some allowance for this 
in the folly of my friend ? especially if incendiaries 
come between, who always represent things in the worst 
light. 

I may be apt to think, that, had my haters the least 
appearance of the grace of God about them, I could 
then frankly forgive them. But, would not this be the 
cruelty of a fiend-? If they have no interest in God, arc 
they not doubly the objects of my most tender compas- 
sion ? If a man has lost a hand, will I pity him ? but if 
he has lost eyes, legs, and arms, will I storm in cruel 
rage against him ? In offending brethren, I must pity 
the error, and forgive them ; but, in offending sinners* 
I must commiserate their very state, and pray for them. 
And, indeed, this would be the only way to render love 
for hatred, and good for evil. Henceforth, therefore, 
I will carry my bitterest enemies to the throne of grace, 
and implore the best of blessings on my most flagitious 
foes. 

If a man uses me rudely or injuriously in the rage 
of a fever, I feel nothing for mine own maltreatment, 
but a real concern for my frantic friend, and hope the 
crisis of the fever will restore him to the use of his 
reason ; or, if another person would gnaw his own flesi\ 
to do me a mischief all the year round, then, with 
deeper compassion, I consider my unhappy acquaint- 
ance as a confirmed lunatic, or miserable bedlamite.. 
Even so I should look on the man that uses me ill in a 
fit of passion, as in a mental delirium, and pity him ; 
and on him that maltreats me from month to month, 
and from year to year* as a mental lunatic, and com- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATION. 245 

miserate his mournful situation from the bottom of my 
soul 

If I will not forgive a fellow-creature a hundred pence, 
(about poor three pounds !) how can I daily plead with 
Heaven to be forgiven my ten thousand talents, ;twenty- 
two millions Sterling !) and yet, unless I am daily fa- 
voured with richer pardons than the remission of any 
given sum, I am undone for ever. 

As it is noble to prevent the needy with our charity, 
and not wait till importuned, so it is truly noble to for- 
give injuries, though neither desired to do it, nor thank- 
ed for it. When an offending person confesses his 
fault, and begs pardon, it is praise- worthy to pardon, 
and yet we can do no less, because we are victorious 
over him in his submission. But it is much more noble, 
from a sense of duty, to forgive stubborn offenders, be* 
cause then we obtain a victory over ourselve-s, which is 
the best of all conquests. 

To indulge rancor and revenge may gratify my unre- 
newed part, but cannot benefit my better part here or 
hereafter; but to forgive and forget enemies and inju- 
ries, will be no grief of mind to me when I arrive at 
the heavenly state, mingle among saints and angels, and 
dwell in the presence of God. 

April ^ 1777. — Alas! my meditation is not finished 
till my antagonist is no more ! O how few years brings 
us to our latter end ! and why should we keep our an- 
ger for ever, and our contentions while we live ? It is 
comfort to me, that some years ago we were reconci- 
led ; and O how feeble is the wrath of a mortal, who 
cannot defend himself from a moment's sickness ! Now 
he is taken up with the great concerns of the world of 
spirits, and that for eternity ; and in a little I shall also 
arrive at my fixed state, and be taken up with eternal 
things. O that the precious time, and precious thoughts, 
which I employed on what I accounted ill usage, had 
been spent in heavenly meditations ! then I had brought 
meat out of the eater, and sweetness out of the strong. 
May this be a caveat to me in all time coming, that 
whatever maltreatment I may get from a fellow-crea- 
ture, quite to overlook it, and to acknowledge Heaven 
in all, and to meditate on heaven for all : Thus shall I 
behave like a child of God, and a candidate for glory, 
W 2 



246 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

how foolish is it to fear a worm or a grasshopper, as 
if the Most High did not rule over all the children of 
men ! 

To live in view of eternity would make me think 
little of the love or the hatred, the affection or affronts, 
af my fellow-creatures, since in a little they shall go 
from me, or I from them, into the invisible world ; and 

1 cannot tell how soon. 



MEDITATION CXXVH. 

WHITSUNDAY. 

May 28, 1773. 
From every season of the year, from every period of 
time, natural or artificial, we may learn something. At 
this time, then, the landed proprietors set the whole 
country in motion, and there is a mighty stir to answer 
tht:r demands. Some wealthy farmers care not a far- 
thing for this critical day, because they are prepared for 
it ; others have plenty both of money and chattels, but 
their money lies so scattered in the country, that they 
cannot command one shilling, and they cannot convert 
their stock into cash, so that for the time their credit is 
like to break, notwithstanding all their plenty. But the 
poor farmer finds term-day overtake him, and he knows 
not what to do, or where to turn. Well let this re- 
mind the landlord and the tenant, that a day of accounts 
will come, when the lease of life expires, and the great 
Proprietor of heaven and earth will reckon with them 
for all they have enjoyed. Some saints are so clear 
respecting their interest in Christy so rich in his impu- 
ted righteousness* so full of heavenly assurance, that 
they rather rejoice than tremble at the day of judg- 
ment ; others though in a gracious state, are so uncum- 
bered with worldly cares, are so beclouded with des- 
ponding thoughts, that they cannot collect their eviden- 
ces for the better country, and are afraid that* when 
they stand in the judgment, they shall be condemned. 
But the sinner, who is poor towards God, and has no- 
thing provided for eternity, not the least evidence for 
heaven, well may tremble and be horribly afraad for the 
judgment. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS, 24? 

Again, every other creditor will be staved off, and 
delayed for a time, that the landlord be not disappoint- 
ed of his rents. O that we were thus wise in spiritual 
things I first to have matters between God and our souls 
on a comfortable footing, and then all other things shall 
run in a pleasant channel. 

Being to clear with the landlord, occasions an univer- 
sal clearance with one another. Even so, in the day of 
judgment, not only the sins committed directly .against 
God, but injuries against one another, whereby he also 
is offended, shall be condemned in his presence. 

The thoughtless and improvident tenant makes no dil- 
igence till the very term-day comes, and then what run- 
ning from person to person, to borrow but for a few 
days ! but in vain, since the same term has overtaken 
them all, as well as him. Even so the foolish virgins, 
in that awful day, will find no oil to buy, but must be 
shut out from the heavenly marriage, for ever to dwell 
in darkness and despair. 

Again, some may think themselves richly provided 
for this day, and able to answer all their landlord's de- 
mands, but how are they confounded to find their bank- 
bills refused, as being forged or insufficient, or their 
cash cast back as being foreign, counterfeit, or 100 
light. Just s#, alas ! many presumptuous hypocrites 
will find all their feigned righteousness rejected ; proud 
legalists will find their good works, when weighed, 
miserably wanting ; and all who depend on any thing 
but the perfect righteousness of Jesus, will find them- 
selves eternally lost. 

Again, whether we look to town or country, we will 
find the confusion universal ; people removing from 
place to place, houses left without inhabitant, and some 
families thrown out, that can scarce find a house to go 
to ; masters changing servants, and for a few days with 
scarce a servant to attend them ; servants going to new 
masters, and some thrown altogether out of a place ; 
and even young infants, that know not whither they are 
going, are subjects of the general confusion. May not 
this remind us all, whether masters or servants, house- 
holders or lodgers, landlords or tenants, that we must 
all soon, how soon we cannot tell, remove from this to 
tlie invisible world I Wo to the inhabitant, whether he 



24a SOLITUDE sweetened; or, 

dwell in a palace or in a cottage, who must quit his 
clay tabernacle, without any hopes of being admit- 
ted into the mansions of glory! Wo to the man who 
has all his life-time been the servant of sin, and shall 
find, at the awful hour of death, that eternal death shall 
be all the wages of his service ! The man of gray hairs, 
who is half-dead to this world, and the infant of a span 
long, who knows nothing of a world to come, must go 
together to the silent grave. 

Would he not be an arrant fcol, who though warned 
kway from his farm, and from his house, should let the 
period expire, without providing himself in another, 
and thus be cast into the open fields at last ? Such ex- 
amples are rare, but instances of a more consummate 
folly are fearfully abundant, while numbers, who know 
that they must very soon drop this mortal frame, and 
quit with all below, give themselves no concern, and 
take no thought how or where they shall dwell through 
an endless eternity. 

Though a time of removal be expected, and provided 
for too, yet when it comes there is always some unex- 
pected hurry and confusion along with it. Just so, 
though we expect death ourselves, or on some of our 
family, yet we may expect to be surprised at last, and 
taken at unawares ; therefore it will be our wisdom not 
to delay the great work of making our calling and elec- 
tion sure, till sickness enfeeble every nerve, and death 
sit down on our eye-lids. 

The poor farmer, who tugs, and sweats to gather his 
master's rent, thinks such gentlemen are the only hap- 
py persons on the face of the earth*; not considering 
that many men of fortune find it difficult to keep their 
incomes and expenses on an equal balance; that others 
are still more extravagant than opulent ; and that a third 
sort, the worst of all, spend their estates to ruin their 
souls. It is rare to find in the world those that can use 
it, and not abuse themselves or it ; therefore a golden 
mediocrity has been the wish of all wise men in all 

At this lime some monied men have it in their power 
by helping a poor friend, or an indigent neighbour, to 
win a blessing to themselves, and lose nothing at the 
latter end. What blessings, then, should an elect 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATION'S. 24$ 

world ascribe to Jesus, that best that none such friend, 
who for them answers all the demands of law and jus- 
tice, and has got their full, their final discharge at the 
court of heaven, from his Almighty Father's hand, so- 
that they have no claims, no condemnation to fear, either 
in this world, or in that to come ! 

Lastly, when those who had to remove are snugly ac- 
commodated in their new houses ; when masters have 
got home their servants, and servants got to their pla- 
ces ; when debtors have cleared with their creditors, 
and farmers got their landlord's discharge ; then what a 
sweet calm, serenity, and joy succeed to the late tu- 
mult of thought and whirlwind of anxiety 1 Even so, 
when the saints arrive at the mansions of glory, are ac- 
quitted by the Judge of all the earth, and finally dis- 
charged from sin and death, then sjiall they forget their 
afflictions as the waters that flow away, then joy shall 
crown their heads, and songs shall fill their mouth, and 
they shall be satisfied with their own felicity, exult in 
his salvation, and be ravished with his goodness forever* 



MEDITATION CXXVI1I. 

AGAINST MURMURING AT MISFORTUNES. 

May 4, 1776. 
If Providence is pleased to crush my comforts of any- 
kind, shall I make my situation less comfortable by com- 
plaining ? If God chastises me as a son, shall I make 
myself an enemy, by rebelling against the discipline of 
my Father's house I If Heaven sends affliction an me, 
shall I make tne sad addition of sin to my sorrow, by 
quarrelling at my sufferings ? If I am not so happy as 
I would choose to be, I should still study to be holy, 
humble, and content, and I shall never be very miser- 
able. It is oniy in the things of time that I am disap- 
pointed ; and what else can 1 expect, where infinite wis- 
dom has pronounced all to be vanity and vexation of spir- 
it 1 He that lets God go for the creature, may well ex- 
pect storms and tempests to blow around him. He that 
promises to himself happiness in any thing under ths 
sun, snail every day of his life have one lesson or other 
to rectify his mistake, He that seeks not God in all 



25$ solitude sweetened; on, 

things, and prefers not God above all things, and is not, 
satisfied with God in the room of all things, may ex- 
pect vexation in every thing, and shall be happy in no- 
thing. To fathers of our flesh we have given obedi- 
ence, even when their own pleasure was the rule of 
their conduct ; and shall we be less submissive to the 
Father of our spirits, when our profit is always in hi* 
heavenly plan ? In our choice of good things, in our 
requests for blessings, we may be mistaken, but in his 
bounty he cannot err, whether he gives much or little, 
this or that, any thing or nothing. Surely, I can never 
think or say that my wisdom could have made the world, 
or myself; how, then, can 1 think that my wisdom could 
rule the world or myself? that cannot be called a mis- 
fortune that makes me wiser, or a cross that makes me 
better, or a loss that makes me richer in heaven, or a 
disappointment which makes me quit with every crea- 
ture, and cleave to God alone. If a burden is tied on 
my back, which I must carry to such a place, the more 
I fling it from me, it falls down with the greater weight, 
and, instead of getting free of it, it becomes a greater 
burden still ; but, if I go on calmly, my burden grows 
gradually lighter, by my patience and submission, till 
I get quit of it at last altogether. 

Not stupid, but submissive, not dejected, but resign- 
ed, not combating the means, nor quarrelling the instru- 
ment, but confessing the first cause, and adoring the 
sovereignty of Heaven, is my present duty, and will be 
my peace both now and in time to come. 

There is not an angel of God, nor a saint in glory 
but approves of the whole conduct of Providence ; and 
therefore, though so imperfect in comparison of angeis 
and glorified saints, yet, through grace, I would wish 
to say, " Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ;" 
and, to all that thou hast done, art doing, and wilt do 
concerning me, " Amen." 

MEDITATION CXXIX. 

A CAVEAT AGAINST EXCESS OF JOY IN PROSPECT Q.F 
ANY CREATED GOOD. 

July 24, 1776. 
Such is the corruption of human nature, even in the 
best, that while we receive the good things of this life, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 251 

we forget the Giver, and idolize the gift. On the one 
hand, we are to think highly of every blessing, who de- 
serve to have our very blessings cursed ; and we ought 
to receive with humble gratitude, every favor who have 
forfeited all ; but, on the other hand, we are always to 
bear in our mind these few following reflections, which 
will help us to rejoice with moderation. 

1. Created good is always greater in the prospect than 
in the possession; while the heavenly bliss, like Solo- 
mon's glory and wisdom, appears still the greater the 
nearer it is approached. 

2. No worldly felicity can enrich the soul ; and many 
a time the happiest men, with respect to the world, 
have the greatest leanness in their soul, and, as their 
outward man flourishes, their inward man decays. 

3. Nothing that we receive in the world can keep us 
a moment longer in it; but many tilings which we may 
possess, as riches and relations, make us both unwilling 
and unfit to leave the world. 

4. There is always a want in the most perfect, and a 
thorn in the most pleasant, of earthly enjoyments. 

5. Have we a good name ? Lying tongues may ruin 
it.— -Have we riches ? These, however well secured, 
(mind this,) may make themselves wings as eagles, and 
fly away. — -Have we relations^ beloved, deserving, and 
endearing ? Death may deprive us of them all, and 
leave us to mourn alone. — Have we children ? They 
may die young, and set our hearts a-bleeding ; or they 
may live long, and by their irreligious life break our 
very hearts, when we are bowed down with years. 

6. He makes a poor exchange, who takes the crea- 
ture for God, or gives God less room in his mind, in 
his meditations, in his affections, that his enjoyments 
may have the more. 

7. Tranquility of mind, and a -smiling conscience, are 
the gift of Heaven ; and no enjoyment can bestow them, 
or compensate the loss when gone. 

8 Carnality will spring up at every corner, come in 
with every good thing, and, like Satan among the sons 
of God, intrude itself amidst all the graces of the Spir- 
it ; so that we have need to be always on our guard. 

9. The brevity and uncertainty of human life, as it 
should dry the tears of the mourner, so it should mod- 
erate the joys of all the children of men. 



252 solitude sweetened; or, 

10. According to the talents put into our hand, ac- 
cording to the gifts of Heaven to us, so must we ac- 
count to the sovereign Judge of all ; and our aptne&s 
to misgive in every thing, should keep us humble at all 
limes and in all places. 

11. Since infinite wisdom has seen meet to bestow 
very Jittle created good, or earthly felicity, on the 
greater part of his people, this should teach us to pos- 
sess the good things of this life with fear, and to rejoice 
in them with trembling. 

12. To be dispossessed of our possessions, to lone 
our relations, to be dismissed from our posts and em- 
ployments, and to be bereft of all our enjoyments, is 
more galling and irksome, than never to have had pos- 
session, relation, post, or employment. 

13. Created good things we can neither carry with us 
to another world, draw comfort from in the hour of death, 
nor secure to our heirs in this world, when we are no 
more ; therefore it is only our vitiated imagination that 
pictures out such scenes of pleasure in a thing of nought. 

14. Confidence in the creature too often accompanies 
the possession of the creature ; yet this is the cut-worm 
at the root of all our enjoyments ; for it is in God, the 
Giver of all, that all our confidence should rest. 

16. The favour of God is our best inheritance, the 
providence of God is our richest possession ; the one 
can make us happy, in spite of all misfortunes, while 
we live, and the other can attend our posterity, when 
we are no more. 

16. Finally, our wisdom is to seek to enjoy God in all 
things, to see him in all things, and in all things to 
glorify him ; to prefer him above ail things, and to be 
fully satisfied with him alone, in the room of all things, 
relations, riches, good name, peace, prosperity, health, 
and life, or whatever we enjoy below. 

MEDITATION CXXX. 

^fKE JOY OF SALVATION. 

Aug. 25, 1776. 
What must the joy of the benighted traveller be, 
that has lost his way, and walks every step in terror of 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 253 

his life, through the roaring of lions, and yells of wild 
beasts around him, when the light of the morning scat- 
ters his fears, and the rising sun sends the beasts of 
prey again to their dens ? What must the joy of the 
mariner be, that has sustained a terrible tempest, w$iile 
the heavens above opened in thunder and lightning, and 
the ocean raged around in high swelling surges, till his 
vessel was a very wreck, and he expected to be buried 
in every returning billow, when at once the storm is 
changed into a calm, his native country appears in sight, 
and he arrives safe at his desired harbour ? What must 
the joy of that person be, who, banished into cruel exile, 
has a long time dwelt with savages, or beasts of prey, 
when recalled by a royal edict, and invited to dwell 
among his brethren, and in his father's house ? What 
must the joy of an indigent man be, who, oppressed 
with poverty, could never call aught his own, when he 
finds a treasure so rich, so immense, that thenceforth 
he shall be accounted the most opulent man in the coun- 
try ? What must the joy of the rebel be, who, being 
outlawed, and a price set upon his head, skulked in con- 
tinual fear, and trembled at every breath of wind, when 
the royal pardon gives him his life, restores him to fa- 
vor, and admits him to his sovereign's presence ? What 
must the joy of the valiant soldier be, who, having stood 
long in the field of battle, engaged troop after troop, 
till faint and fatigued almost to death, yet conquers all 
his foes at last, clears the field, and returns in safety to 
the spoil ? What must the joy of that man be, who 
has been chained to strife and contention for many years, 
when blessed with peace around, peace in his own 
house, and peace in his own mind ? What must the 
joy of those affectionate parents be, whose only son is 
delivered from the jaws of death ? of that loving hus- 
band, whose amiable wife is as it were restored to hini 
from the dead ? What must the joy of the prisoner be., 
who has long been confined to a loathsome dungeon, a 
stranger to the light of day, the swe^ of society, and 
the visits of his friends, when set at perfect liberty, to 
walk in the light, and enjoy himself with his friends? 
What must the joy of the stranger be, who has walked 
whole days over burning mountains, around terrible 
craters of thundering volcanoes, trembling, lest he sink 
X 



254 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OH, 

amidst the latent flames, or perish by some sudden erup- 
tion, when he finds himself safe on the fragrant plain, 
and charmed with the vineyards that spread around 
him ? What must the joy of the bankrupt be, whose 
generous friend pays all his debts, brings him out of jail, 
and allows him a fund that he shall never want again ? 
What must the joy of the infirm, bed-ridden patient be, 
who has long turned his face from the world, and to- 
ward the wall, beheld the grave as his solitary lodging, 
and taken his farewell of the children of men, when, 
raised from his bed of languishing, his health recover- 
ed, and his youth renewed as the eagle's ? What must 
the joy of the criminal be, who, guilty of some atro- 
cious crime, has been condemned to lose his life, and, 
on the appointed day, amidst assembled thousands, is 
led forth to execution ; when lo ! a post, swift as the 
wings of the wind, arrives with a royal pardon, that 
swells his breast with transport and surprise, and saves 
him from death ? What must the joy be of persons be- 
sieged, and so straitened, and reduced to famine, that 
they are compelled almost to eat the flesh of one an- 
other, or their own, when the siege is raised, and plenty 
pours in at every gate ? What must the joy be of one 
journeying over burning sands, scorched with the sun, 
and parching with raging thirst, till like to fall down 
dead, when a crystal fountain, or flowing stream ap- 
pears before him ? What must the joy of a beggar be, 
when admitted heir to a wealthy prince ? What must 
the joy of a slave be, who, though loaded with chains, 
has often felt the rod of correction, when he sees his 
fetters knocked off, his vile raiment taken away, him- 
self clothed in scarlet, a crown put upon his head, a 
sceptre in his hand, and himself proclaimed a king? 
Such, and much more, is the joy of salvation, where 
sinners are made saints, worms rise into angels, and 
men are made like unto God. 

MEDITATION CXXXI. 

ON VISITS. 

Sefit, 5, 1776. 
To make and return visits is both friendly and fashion- 
able ; but it is sad, that too often, when we commence 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 255 

the visitant, we drop the Christian. How melancholy 
that it cannot be known whether we be Turks or Chris- 
tians, but by our posture at table I Where the enter- 
tainment is remarkable for nothing bin noise and non- 
sense, loud peals of laughter, puns, and buffoonery, it 
is a poor welcome we give to our guests, and a shcime* 
ful return we make to our host. If at one table we find 
profanity, at another folly, be that visits least will suffer 
least, A whole day spent in mirth, and not one word 
in any discourse about religion, and not one thought of 
God in any heart, is an awful blank, and a sad waste of 
time. 

Though at a friendly feast, or social entertainment, 
we do not meet to preach, yet we should always meet to 
improve one another in useful knowledge ; and a seri- 
ous " word fitly spoken" might shine " like apples of 
gold in pictures of silver. ,> Such a conduct might, at 
some times, though not often, produce the laugh against 
us ; but the approbation of Heaven, and the testimony 
of a good conscience, will easily balance this. If our 
company be such, that we can get nothing serious in- 
troduced, let us rejoice that they camTot prevent our 
ejaculations to God, and, in our meditation, let us now 
and then retire to converse above. 

In how many houses, at how many tables, may Icha~ 
bod be written, Religion is not here ; the glory is de- 
parted ! Whatever table our Saviour, when on earth, 
sat at, he was sure to enrich it with some heavenly dish- 
es, and fed his audience with sacred truth ; so it should 
be our constant endeavor never to come away the worse 
of any company, but the better ; never to leave any com- 
pany the worse of us, but the better. Why should not 
our grace, as^well as the impiety of others, like the rich 
perfume, bewray itself, whether we will or will not I 
Every where, and every time, at home or abroad, whe- 
ther we eat or drink, receive or return visits, and in 
every company, we should do all to the glory of God ; 
who gives us all that we enjoy below, and will at last 
make us sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb, 
where the converse shall enlarge, delight, and ravish 
evermore ! 



256 solitude sweetened; on, 

MEDITATION CXXXII. 

THE ANGUISH OF DAMNATION. 

Oct, 15, 1776. 
How must their breasts beat, and hearts throb, who 
are cast into a den of lions, while the savage monsters 
tear off their flesh, and break their bones in pieces ! 
How bitter must the cry of Egypt have been in that 
memorable night, when, in every house, the first-born 
of man and beast lay breathless, and the doleful lamen- 
tation was echoed from border to border, and from one 
end of the land to the other I What must the conster- 
nation of Sodom's inhabitants have been, when fire and 
brimstone was rained from those heavens that used to 
send down refreshful showers, and where fields of blue 
ether delighted the eye ! How great must the astonish- 
ment have been of the surviving Assyrians and their 
king, when in the morning they found their mighty 
army only a multitude of dead corpses ! What must 
the sorrow of that man be, who, falling under his sove- 
reign's displeasure, is banished from his nearest con- 
nexions, and dearest friends, into perpetual soiitude, 
or the society of monsters and savages ! What must 
the pangs of those parents' be, while their tender off- 
spring are shrieking, groaning, dying, by cruel deaths, 
under the bloody ruffians ! What must the sister, the 
mother, the wife, feel on the shore, while the ship that 
carries the brother, the son, the husband, dashes on 
the rocks below, and they perish, as it were, in their 
presence ! What must the horror of the devoted wretch 
be, who stands and sees the fire kindling which is to 
consume him to ashes ! What must the terror of a city 
taken by storm be, when, in every street, young and 
old, man and woman, perish by the sword, and the air 
is filled with screaming, lamentation, an^I groans 1 
What must the amazement of that devoted* village be, 
while from the burning mountain the dreadful lava rolls 
irresistibly down, and covers and consunaes whatever 
stands in its way ! What paleness of countenance, what 
trembling of limbs, what faintness of heart, must at- 
tend the carnage of a field of battle, by an inexorable, 
but victorious foe i What must the inhabitants of a city 
feel, when awaked at midnight with the sound of fire 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 25 

in every quarter, when all they have blazes before them, 
and some of their dearest friends roar for help, but per- 
ish in the flames, whiie the conflagration is succeeded 
by a terrible earthquake that shakes the world to its 
foundation, so that ihe ground cleaves asunder, swal- 
lows up inhabitants and city, and closes her mouth, that 
they are seen no more ! Such, and ten thousand times 
worse, is the anguish of damnation, when ail the Christ- 
less multitude shall be punished with everlasting de- 
struction from the presence of the Lord, and from the 
glory of his power I 



MEDITATION CXXXIII. 

SOVEREIGNTY. 

March 28, \77T. 

To God, who rules in heaven and earth, belongs a 
supreme power, and undisputed sovereignty over men 
and ungeis. He who is the Creator and Preserver of 
all, may certainly dispose of all as he pleases. And 
because we have a near and dear interest in some things, 
it can never supersede God's better right both to them 
and us. He bestows blessings on us, at the t we do not 
quarrel ; but he removes them, and at this we murmur ; 
yet his right to take is the same as to give. We may 
small, but we can never suffer injustice under his hand. 
Much of our pain, and most of our disappointments in 
the world, rise from our circumscribed views of hea- 
venly sovereignly. We think thai Heavens hould fol- 
low that plan of government that pleases us best. And 
yet he gives not account of any of his matters, and still 
he does all things well. 

Moses begins to deliver his brethren, and smites an 
Egyptian; yet sovereignty sends him forty years to a 
strange country, and adds forty years heavy bondage to 
the Israelites. The kindness of God sends Joseph into 
Egypt, to preserve his father's family alive ; yet sove- 
reignty sends him in such a way, that old Jacob seems 
to go mourning to the grave, and he that had been fa- 
voured with the most heavenly dreams, dreams not a 
word all this time of his beloved son. Jephthah con- 
quers his foes, but Providence meets him with a sharp 
X % 



258 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

trial in his only daughter, who, at best, must never be 
married. The favour of Heaven enriches Job, but 
sovereignty permits Satan to spoil him of all. David 
is anointed king, but ere he comes to the throne, he is 
sometimes driven almost to despair of his life. The 
Jews have liberty to rebuild their temple, and yet, 
through the malice of their foes, it is retarded a long 
time. John, our Saviour's forerunner, after baptizing 
thousands, loses his head through the malice of a wo- 
man. Josiah, one of the best kings, is slain in battle 
in the prime of his life. Zechariah is stoned to death 
for reproving, in God's name, the transgression of his 
law. And the apostles, who were the salt of the world, 
were hungry, thirsty, naked, buffeted, without habita- 
tion, made as the filth of the world, and the offscouring 
of all things ! And all these things were ordered by di- 
vine sovereignty. 

We allow that death must separate friends some time, 
but sovereignty will take from one parent the child of 
a span long, from another the weaned child, from a 
third a pretty boy, from another the promising youth, 
and from another the comfort of his hoary hairs. Into 
one family death never enters, but it flourishes up to 
manhood, and wholly survives the aged parents; into 
another, death thrusts his iron hand, and carries one 
3\vav ; from a third, he snatches a complete half of the 
dear little ones ; and oi a fourth he takes them all but 
one ; while from another he takes one and all. But to 
give and take health and wealth, friends and relations, 
blessings and mercies, at his own time, and in his own 
way, is a part of the plan of God's government of the 
world. Therefore, we should always expect to be de- 
prived of what we possess, in a moment, or to be pre- 
vented with blessings suddenly, as streams of water in 
the south. Could we commit all we have, all we are, 
and all we wish, into his sovereign hand, to do with 
them as he pleases, our concerns should be as secure, and 
our souls much more tranquil. 

If in sovereignty God has passed by some, and chosen 
me to a crown and kingdom, which in a few years I 
shall be possessed of for ever, what though he pass by 
me ? and bestow on those the comforts of this life, which 
in a few years they must be dispossessed of for ever ? 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 259 

Though thy providence should both perplex and pain 
me, I will never complain, I may sin in my desires, but 
thou wilt not injure me in thy determination. It shall 
please me that thou dost all thy pleasure, and my will 
shall be swallowed up of thine. I have forfeited every 
felicity ? how, then, can I expect to begin heaven on 
earth ? The prospect of heaven may make me triumph 
over every trouble, every trial, every disappointment 
in time. In a little I shall be so happy, that I shall al- 
most forget that ever I had less felicity. Such is my 
confidence in thy wisdom, such my dependence on thy 
powerful arm, such my expectation from thy fatherly 
kindness, that I acquiesce in all thou doest and desire 
to be wholly at thy disposal in all I am, in all I have, and 
in all I desire. What I know not now, why at such and 
such a time I lose a friend, why I meet with such and 
such a disappointment, why such and such a cross is 
laid on me,- 1 shall know hereafter, one time or other; 
or I shall know one time or other that it was good for 
me that I have been afflicted ; and when time is no 
more, I shall know that he hath done all things well, 



MEDITATION CXXXIV. 

THE VICTORY OF FAITH. 

Seftt. 30, 1777. 
" To him that believeth all things are possible, >} said 
he who cannot lie. Why, then, have I so many fears 
about many things ? Would I not cheerfully commit the 
lot of my friends to the providence of God ? Why, then, 
not commit the hearts of my nearest and dearest rela- 
tions to the grace of God ? Cannot he who commanded 
the light to shine out of darkness, shine into their 
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of his own 
glory in the face of Jesus ? Is Gad more niggardly of the 
graces of his Spirit, than of the good things of his provi- 
dence ? Does he prevent with his common kindness the 
creatures he has made, and cannot he prevent with hi-3 
special grace the souls he has created I — To him on the 
throne of his power every creature may look up for 
protection and supply ; but to him on the throne of his 
grace, we may come with boldness, for grace the best 



260 solitude sweetened; or, 

of blessings, to ourselves, our friends, our acquaint- 
ance, to our enemies, to all. To act strong faith in the 
most important matters, glorifies God most ; and tne 
salvation of mine own soul, and the souls of my dear 
friends, is of ail matters the most important. While I 
seek the salvation of my friends, I seek the glory of 
God, for in their salvation he is gloiified. Then with 
all the eagerness of desire, with all the importunity of 
a poor supplicant, with all the boldness of faith, I plead, 
I wrestle, I implore, that the souls of these my dear 
friends may believe in the Saviour, who came to seek 
and to save the lost. 

MEDITATION CXXXV. 

THE NECESSITY OF AFFLICTIONS WHILE WE LIVE. 

Aug. 29, 1778. 
This very subject, twenty years ago,* has employ- 
ed my pen ; and, whether I write or not, I expect af- 
flictions of one kind or other while in the body. Our 
afflictions may put on different appearances, according 
to the different periods of our life, but they will attend 
us as close as the shadow does the body. As long as I 
dwell in Mesech, I may expect wars ; as long as I attend 
en sin and vanity, vexation and trouble will attend me. 
As I cannot be perfect in holiness while out of heaven, 
so I cannot be perfect in happiness while absent from 
God. I smart in my sufferings, I feel in my afflictions ; 
but that I should sin before I suffer, offend before I am 
afflicted, should make my inmost soul to smart. I have 
reason to fear that I am a veiy stubborn son, that I need 
so much correction ; but it affords me comfort that I am 
not disowned as a bastard, but endure chastisement as 
a son. He that has no long journey before him, but 
sits still in his own house, may escape the tempest, and 
hide himself from the storm ; but he that sets out for 
another country, cannot expect always to walk on the 
flowery champaign, or in the pleasant sunshine, but 
shall find a river to cross, and a mountain to climb ; 
inall have darkness around him, and thunders roaring 

* See Meditation XXXiX. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 261 

above him, the tempests attending his steps, and the 
storm dashing upon nun ; and perhaps enemies waylaying 
him : So it is with the traveller heavenward, tor through 
much affliction, and many tribulations, we shall enter 
into the kingdom. 

Again, affliction is as necessary for the health of the 
soul, as exercise for the health of the body. — Lay a man 
down upon his bed, and let him never lift his head but 
to eat and to drink, how soon would he become good 
for nothing, yea, and lose his own health ? Just so, let 
the saint have no afflictions, and his graces shall soon 
grow languid, and his soul sick and feeble ; but afflic- 
tion raises us from our sloth, makes us run to God, 
call in the divine assistance, see the vanity of the crea- 
ture, and long for the heavenly state. " The wicked 
have no cnanges;" well, is their heart filled with glow- 
ing gratitude to the God of their mercies ? No, but, 
strange to it 11, " therefore they fear not God 1" On 
the other hand, the saints are afflicted, and they cleave 
to God, and keep his statutes better than before. 

Corruption is so interwoven with our frame, that in 
every station, and toward every relation, we may offend ; 
but Providence has so ordered it, that, in every station, 
and troni every relation, afflictions of one kind or other 
will come ; and if they correct us where we err, and 
mortify our corruption, we ought to welcome them. 

The school of the cross is the school of light, and 
there must ail the children of God be taught in their 
non-age, to fit them for the perfect state of glory. Au 
ignorant person that sees the mariner heaving such a 
weight of ballast aboard his ship, would suppose he in- 
tended to sink her at sea; just so, whatever the world 
may think, the troubles and trials of the saints shall- 
never sink them, but keep them from being overset by 
every squall, that they may arrive with safety atihe ha- 
ven of rest, having tneir anchor fixed within the fail* 



MEDITATION CXXXVI. 

GIBEON MAKING PEACE WITH ISRAEL. 

Nov. 8, 1779. 

When Israel came out of Egypt to take possession 
of the promised land, every thing about them was mar? 



262 solitude sweetened; or, 

vellous and instructive. They approached the land of 
piomise in the time of its greatest plenty, to wit, in 
hurvest, but at a time when Jordan seemed to forbid 
their entrance, by overflowing all his banks. But the 
same power that divided the Red Sea when they came 
out of Egypt, divides Jordan that they may enter Ca- 
naan. Just so it shall fare with the Israel of God. 
Death shall not keep them from their Father's house ; 
and when they enter their heavenly inheritance, they 
shall find all fulness, even an eternal harvest of glory t 

The devoted nations might think themselves secure 
from the armies of Israel, while Jordan, bursting over 
his banks, remained such a mighty barrier; but what 
madness seized them, to combine for battle against a 
people before whom Jordan's rapid stream recoiled back, 
and iet them pass over dry shod ! This madness is only 
equalled and exceeded by sinners who defy Omnipo- 
tence amidst the bright displays of his power, challen- 
ges the Eternal to combat, and run on the thiek bosses 
of his buckler. 

When, then, men of such an insignificant city as Ai 
put three thousand of the conquerors to flight, and 
made them leave thirty-six of their heroes dead behind 
them, it might perhaps raise the drooping spirits of the 
Canaanites, and confirm to them, that their foes were 
not invincible. But, when they hear that Ai is smitten, 
all the kings on this side Jordan, in the hills and valleys, 
of every people, and from every quarter, forget their 
former animosities, and jarring interests, and unite 
against the common foe ! This has been the case in all 
ages of the world, that the powers of the earth have 
combined against the people of God, and, in slaying 
the saints, like Herod and Pilate, have been reconciled 
among themselves. 

But, while this league is forming, Gibeon, a royal 
city, makes peace with Joshua. Here I speak not of the 
cheat with respect to the children of Israel, but of the 
change with respect to the Gibeonites, full of noble les- 
sons and instructions. The inhabitants of a free, a roy- 
al city, are made hewers of wood, and drawers of wa- 
ter, for the house of God. But the meanest employ- 
ment in the palace of a king is honorable ; how much 
more in the house of the King of heaven i Better serve 



m 






MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 263 



in God's house, where there is safety, than enjoy the 
freedom of Gibeon, that ends in destruction. 

Though the men of Gibeon seem chief in the embas- 
sy, yet they forget not three other cities, where their 
countrymen dwelt, and all are included in the league. 
So those that seek mercy for themselves at the throne 
of grace, will not forget their friends, their acquaint- 
ance, their fellow-creatures. In the prayers of every 
Christian, the salvation of souls, and the prosperity of 
Zion, will fkid a place. 

The same tidings came to Gibeon, and the kings, but 
had different effects ; the kings prepare for war, but 
Gibeon sues for peace . Just so, the gospel softens 
some, and hardens others ; is to one the savour of life, 
to another the savour of death. 

When the kings hear that Gibeon has made peace 
with Israel, they resolve to attack Isreal in their new 
allies, perhaps under pretence cf breaking the league, 
and deserting the common cause. Thus, when a soul 
leaves the service of sin, the men of the world, and 
the powers of darkness, immediately set upon' him, and 
attack Christ in his members. 

Gibeon is no sooner in safety by being at peace with 
Joshua, than she is in danger by the kings around her. 
So, when a soul has peace with God, he may expect 
persecution from the world, and through much tribu- 
lation to enter into the kingdom. 

The kings make war against Gibeon, and Gibeon, 
who, a few days before, was among the accursed Ca- 
naanites can now send to Joshua, " Slack not thy hand 
from thy servants, come up quickly, and save us." This 
is a surprising change of circumstances, but disappears 
before that change, when he who was lately of the fami- 
ly of hell, can send the cry of faith to heaven and say 
to Jehovah, c Slack not thy hand from thy servant, from 
thy son, but come and save me.' 

Joshua and his chosen warriors at -end, and deliver 
their new allies from their formidable foes; and, in de- 
stroying the five kings that attended to sack Gibeon, a 
mighty wonder takes place ; the sun stands still in the 
midst of heaven, and lengthens out the day, to complete 
the glorious work. But, in the work of our redemp- 
tion, the Son of God comes down, and shines the Sun 



26<i SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OJlj 

of Righteousness in our hemisphere, and will shine 
through all the gospel-day, till our spiritual enemies 
are cut off, and we put our feet on the neck of all our 
foes. Then shall we dwell securely in the land of pro- 
raise, and serve for ever in the house of God. 



MEDITATION CXXXVII. 

CN THE AUTHOR'S FIRST USING GLASSES. 

Feb. 27, 1780. 

Now those that for me look out at the windows be- 
gin to be darkened ; a sure presage that they shall 
shortly be closed in death. It is time now that the 
things of this world should lose their charms, when 
I must look at them through glasses ; and high time 
that heavenly things should ravish me, since I am so 
near a future state. 

Though my sight needed no such assistance, I might 
soon sleep in death. But, by my growing blindness, 
I may see, that I must soon cease to behold man, with 
the inhabitants of the earth. When the ear grows deaf, 
the taste duil, the limbs weak, the grinders few, and 
the eyes dim, to be still charmed with sensual things, 
is a case melancholy beyond description. The young 
and strong, since they know that they are mortal at ev- 
ery period of life, should never be surprised by death ; 
but, for an old man, whose senses begin to fail, to be 
taken at unawares by death, is consummate folly. 

In proportion as my sight fails, I must hold objects 
more distant from me, in order to collect the rays, and 
view them distinctly ; which may admonish me, 
that the longer I live in the world, the things of time 
should be seen as standing at- greater and greater dis- 
tance from me ; that a final separation between us 
must ere long take place ; and that therefore my med- 
itations should be directed towards another state. If my 
eye has not been satisfied with" seeing good, by this 
time it may be fatigued with scenes of vanity and sin, 
and has cause to long for nobler prospects. 

Instead of being struck wholly blind by my advance 
into years, I am only deprived of so much sight, to 
teach me to prize r<\\& improve what is left, and pre- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 265 

pare me for losing the remainder in death. While I 
bless Heaven for this invention, which makes old age 
so comfortable, I bewail the wastes of my youthful pe- 
riod, which I cannot now recall ; but, could I call to 
the youth of every station, and every land, I would s:iy, 
Read much, read seriously, read for eternity, while 
your sight is in its prime. It is affecting to carry mine 
eyes in my head, and my sight in my pocket, since, if I 
go abroad without my glasses, I cannot read a word in 
the book of life till I return ; but then, let me have my 
memory stored with the word of promise, the words of 
the Holy One. 

Such is the vanity of our mind, that we study to con- 
ceal our dpcline in life from our fellow-creatures, who 
suffer in the same decline, and perhaps are also strug- 
gling to conceal it ; but, by our use of glasses, we pro- 
claim to all, our walking on the margin of the grave, 
and that we are grown old. 

If accustomed to glasses a while, I may perhaps for- 
get these reflections, and the growing frailty of my 
frame ; but, let me never put the glasses on my nose, 
without minding that death will shortly lay his hand on 
mine eyes, and close them up for ever. O ! then, as 
the eye of my body grows daily more dim, may the eye 
of my soul grow daily more bright, and, forbearing to 
look on the things which are seen, which are temporal, 
nx on the things which are not seen, and which are eter- 
nal. And when the day comes in which I shall take the 
last glance of created things, the parting look of all my 
friends and relations, however near and dear, may my 
soul, in the broad day of eternity, in the noon-day beams 
of glory, lift up her unclouded eye. and feast on all the 
perfections of God, on all the beauties of the Lamb, and 
be like him for ever, because she sees him as he is, 

To some old men their sight returns again, but their 
yputh is departed for ever : So is it this day with me; 
my youth is gone, and I am well advanced in life, and, 
in the view of a better life, would bid farewell to this, 
and welcome old age and death. 

The various periods of life that are marked with de- 
cline, are but like the stages and mile-stones by the way, 
that ff j ll me how near I am to my journey's end. to my 
Pother's house ; and this of which I new write, is one 
Y 



-265 solitude sweetened; or, 

of the last stages. But, no matter how frail this body 
grow, which is to be fashioned like Christ's glorious 
body, and made spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal % 
no matter how dim this eye grow, that is soon to see God 
in mine own nature, and, thus strengthened, gaze with 
growing wonder, andunabating vigor, on all the glories 
of the higher house; no matter how these limbs totter, 
that are to stand eternally before the throne. O how 
I triumph in the decline of nature, and, amidst the 
storms of winter, sing of eternal summer from the 
smile of God ! The horrors of the grave, the pangs of 
my last sickness, ami the groans of death, are all but 
shadowy, imaginary evils, compared with those substan- 
tial glories that wait to be revealed on the back oi them. 
No matter, though troubles and trials, though men and 
devils, though earth and hell, like an army of enraged 
enemies, attend me to the very gate of glory. Omni- 
potence shall defend me while in the enemy's country ; 
and, when admitted into bliss, over the wall of heaven, 
I shall bid defiance to all the furies of hell, and, enter- 
ing into the joy of my Lord, I shall join in the endless 
hallelujahs of the hosts of the redeemed. 

But when the sinner's sight begins to fail, what can 
he expect ? when his eyes are shut in death, what can 
he hope for, but to see all the horrors of the pit, all the 
sad spectacles of damnation, and all the storms and 
tempests of God's wrath, pouring upon him through 
an endless evermore- 



MEDITATION CXXXVIH. 

ON CASTING OUR CARE ON GOD. 

April 16, 1780. 
Daily, by my anxious cares, how do I discredit these 
-sou! -com for ting, soul-composing truths, that God cares 
for his people, that their concerns are his, and that he 
keeps them as the apple of his eye i Did a kind-heart- 
ed Samson go along the way with me, and take my bur- 
den from my back, and bear it on his robust shoulders, 
would it not be impertinent to run up every now and 
then, to bear up the burden, though forbidden, and con- 
vinced that he could cany me^ibove my burden ? Just 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 3#f 

so, God has commanded me to case all my care on lijm, 
with this sweet assurance, that he careth for me. And 
he has no more need of my care joined to his care, than 
he has need of my assistance to support the pillars of 
the world. Though rolling my burden on the Lord doth 
not supersede a moderate care, and the use of lawful 
means, yet I am so to cast my cares on God, as if I had 
no more concern with them. O how unlike a child of 
God, an expectant of glory, to have so many anxious 
cares, and disquieting forebodings, about the things of 
time, under the pleasing hopes of a happy eternity ! 
My cares may multiply, my concerns may grow, but 
can never be too many for God. He has borne the cares 
of his church and people through many generations, 
and well may I cast ail mine on him. God's care of me 
is always productive of good : but my distrust avails no- 
thing, but gives present pain and future disappoint- 
ment. — When God kindly claims it as his province to 
care for me, why should I encroach on his province, by 
caring for myself? He is a Rock, and his work is per- 
fect, without my anxiety. The stronger my faith is in 
God, I wih have the less care about myself. When I 
care for myself, I am distracted with doubts and unbe- 
lief; but, when I cast my care on God, in the actings of 
a vigorous faith, I have peace and composure of soul. 

Did the king of Great Britain send me a message, 
* Make yourself happy, for I will provide for you and 
yours,' should not I rely on the royal promise, and think 
myself secure ? Then, is the promise, the compassion, 
the treasure, and the faithfulness, of the King of heav- 
en, less to be depended on than of any earthly king ? 
His care has been extended to a numerous race of my 
ancestors, since Japhet left the ark, and.through Pagan 
darkness, and Popish delusion, has brought me to the 
clear light of the gospel ; and to this unerring care, 
both with respect to soul and body, I may well commit 
my posterity to the end of time. His care fashioned 
me in my mother's womb, and will not forsake me, now 
that I am near to be laid in the bowels of the earth. 

I know not how far I should extend my care, because 
I know not how long I shall live. Now, my cares are 
mostly for events and times to come, and yet I cannot 
boast of to-morrow ; therefore, as no time is mine but 
the present, so I should have no anxieties for the future, 



268 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

If I should eat the flesh off my bones with care, it 
would not alter the plan of Providence towards me ; 
therefore, strong faith, and entire resignation to the dis- 
posal of Heaven, are both my indispensable duty, and 
will be my best wisdom. 

" Be carefui for nothing," is a command as large and 
extensive, as it is kind and gracious; that is, have no 
anxious concern about future period, or apparent los- 
ses, about friends and relations, about wife or children, 
widow or orphan, house or home, food or raiment, pov- 
erty or reproach, sickness or death. 

So often has mine own Cc-re produced nothing but pain 
and disquiet, that it is high time for me to be ashamed 
of it, and to give entirely up with it. And so often has 
the heavenly care done wonders for me, watched over 
ine for good, and done all things well, that on him I 
may cast my every care with confidence and joy. 



MEDITATION CXXX1X. 

THE AFFECTION OF A PARENT. 

Aug. 17, 1780. 

Now that I am a father, and know the affection of a 
parent, would I not defend from every danger, would I 
not bestow every good thing, would I not implore eve- 
ry blessing, on my tender offspring ? Would I not rear 
and cherish their infant state, correct and educate their 
childhood, inspect, reprove, admonish their manhood ? 
Would I allow the dear little creatures to play with 
sharp pointed knives, to sport on the brink of a rapid 
stream, or dance about a pit's mouth I Would I permit 
them to hold in their hand the berries of the deadly 
night-shade, or to put a cup of poison to their tender 
lips? However indulgent, would I suffer them to re- 
fuse my commands, or spit in my face ? And, if they 
laboured under any disease that threatened their pre- 
cious life, what pains or expenses would I spare to pro- 
cure them relief ? If assured that a physician lived some- 
where, that could heal them without fail, would I not 
fcend to the utmost corner of the land ? would I not trav- 
el to che ends of the earth ? 

But, hear me, O parents 1 and let me hear myself; 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 26£ 

if our affection end here, we are monsters of cruelty, 
Would we pluck them from fire and water, and yet per- 
mit them to plunge into the fire of hell, and lie under 
the billows ot Jehovah's wrath ? Will we snatch from 
them sword, pistol, or knife, and allow them to wound 
themselves to the very soul with sin ? Will we chas- 
tise their impertinence to us, and wink at their spitting 
in the very face of God, by open acts of sin ? Are we 
fond to have them early well bred to men, and yet let 
them live in the neglect of prayer, which is the highest 
disrespect that can be put on the Author of our being ? 
in a word, is this the sum of our kindness, is this the 
height of our ambition for our dear children, to see 
them happy in time, flourishing in the affairs of this 
life, though they should be miserable beyond descrip- 
tion through eternity itself? Will their bodily pain ex- 
cite our sympathy, and we will do all in our power to 
have their diseases healed*, and yet feel nothing, though 
their souls pine under sin, and they suffer all the pangs 
of the second death, nor bring them in our prayers to 
the Physician of souls, to the Saviour of sinners ? 

Then, were my children ever so many, I have but 
one 5 request for them all, and that is that they may 
fear and serve God here, and enjoy him for ever. No 
matter though they sweat for their daily bread, (this is 
entailed on all mankind,) but let them feed on the hid- 
den manna ; let them toil and spin for their apparel, bufr 
let them be covered in the Surety's righteousness. How 
would I count my house renowned* and my family en- 
Lobled, if there sprang from it not minisftrs of state, 
princes or kings, (jet potsherds of the earth strive for 
earthly things,) but pillars for the temple of God in 
glory, and such as should stand in the presence of the 
Prince of the kings of the earth, when time is no more. 

Again, wliatever bowels of compassion I feel towards 
my tender offspring, such pity wiii the Lord show to- 
wards those that fear him. And though I will not give 
my child every thing it cries for, or is fond of, yet as I 
will give it what I know to be good for it, so will our 
heavenly Father deal with us; why, then, are we. so 
often on the fret ? 

Again, how does a child confide in his parents ? To 
them be makes all his complaints \ he has not the least: 
Y % 



270 solitude sweetened; or,, 

doubt of their affection ; he boasts of their protection 
to his play-fellows and thinks himself safe in their pre- 
sence. Why, then, should the children of our heaven- 
ly Father, the sons of adoption, not bring all their 
complaints to God, rely on his love, boast of his pro^ 
tection, and conclude themselves safe under the con- 
duct of his unerring providence ? 



MEDITATION CXL. 

ON BEING CREATED A PEER. 

Feb. 27, 1782. 

My readers no doubt, will be surprised at my singu- 
lar exaltation ; and no wonder, for I stand astonished 
at it myself; the more so when I reflect, that I have 
never rendered to king or country any remarkable ser^ 
vices, that can claim this as a reward. But it is not 
the first time that the poor have been raised out of the 
dust to high honours, and lifted from the dung-hill to- 
sit with princes. 

A peer of Great-Britain, then, is a great man, and 
takes his seat in the House of Lords ; — has access, free 
access, into the king's palace, and into the king's pre- 
sence ; — has a vote into the affairs of state, — and letters 
post-free. — Nor can any creditor arrest him, being a 
member of Parliament, for any debt.— He has rank and 
precedence according to the time of his creation. — His 
king may visit him without any stain to his majesty — 
And his children have rank among the children of other 
nobles. 

The world will now account me extremely happy ; 
but I must swell their wonder and raise their astonish- 
ment still, while I tell them, that my peerage is spirit- 
ual, heavenly, and divine. My heart would not great- 
ly beat with joy for a British peerage ; but here I have 
cause of endless exultation ; for henceforth, 

1. I take my seat among the saints of God, among 
the angels of glory \ being come to the city of the liv- 
ing God, a place infinitely more noble than the house 
of Lords, to an innumerable company of angels, and to 
the general assembly and church of the first-born. 

2, I have boldness to enter into the holiest, by the 



- 

MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 27 i 

Wood of Jesus,- and palaces of kings are too often sinks 
of sin ; yea, to bring all my petitions to this King of 
heaven on his throne of grace, who in the time of trou- 
ble, (and what is human life but a time of trouble ?.) 
shall hide me in his pavilion, and at last admit me into 
his royal palace with gladness and rejoicing, there to 
abide for ever. 

3. A vote in the affairs of state ! This sounds like blas- 
phemy, had not the King of heaven himself said it : 
" Ask me of things to come, concerning my sons, and 
concerning the words of my hand, command ye me." 
And to Moses, " Let me alone, that my wrath may wax 
hot;" as if God would not be wroth, without permis*- 
sion from a praying saint. And indeed, at last, as as- 
sessors with the supreme Judge, we shall judge the 
world and angels. 

4. Promises come all free from Heaven, and peti- 
tions and prayers are all sent free to Heaven, through 
the hands of the glorious Intercessor. Our requests 
for our friends, though removed to the ends of the 
earth, can be answered, when our friendly correspond- 
ence is often interrupted and uncertain. 

5. I shall never be arrested by law or justice, be- 
cause my debts are all discharged - r and the Son having 
made me free, I am free indeed. Even death, that 
king of terrors, and sergeant at arms, that takes no- 
bles, princes, and kings into custody, shall never ar- 
rest me ; for he that has ennobled me has promised 
that I shall never see death, never feel the sting of death* 
never be hurt of the second death. HowTnany princes 
and kings would give their crowns at their last mo- 
ments for this heavenly privilege ! 

6. Though once poor and grovelling on the dunghill r 
yet since, by my spiritual peerage, the new birth, I am 
become precious in his sight, I shall be honourable, — ► 
be set with princes* and made to inherit a throne of 
glory. Some nobles have been their sovereign's favour- 
ites, but none were ever their chief ornament, their 
crown ; but I shall be, (astonishing to tell i) a crown of 
glory to the Lord, and a royal diadem in ihe hand of 
my God. And no wonder I be so high in his esteem, 
who has given more than Egypt for my ransom, thaa 
Sheba and Ethiopia, for me ; more than men for rae> 



m 
27^ SOLITUOE SWEETENED J 01!, 

and people for my life, even his beloved Son to the death 
for me. 

7. The King of kings, consistently with his majesty, 
pay visit me ; for the high and lofty One, why inhab- 
its eternity, and dwells in the high and holy place, also 
dwells with the humble and contrite soul ; and, says the 
divine Redeemer, " If any man serve me, him will my 
Father honour ; and if a man love me, he will keep my 
words, and my Father will love him ; and we will come 
unto him, and make our abode with him." Nothing 
on earth bears a shadow of this honour ; though crown- 
ed heads should visit cottagers, beggars, the conde- 
scension disappears before this heavenly kindness. 

And, 8. The children of believing parents are fede- 
rally holy ; and though grace does not go by nature, 
yet in the sight of heaven and eartL, the seed of the 
saints are esteemed. Even the envious Jews, who were 
enemies to the Gentiles, because the gospel was preach- 
ed to them, yet, touching the election, were beloved 
for their Fathers' sakes. How pleasant when a person 
can say, " He is my father's God, and I will exalt him," 
" I am thy servant, the son of thine handmaid." And 
even a king that was butchered, had burial bestowed on 
him by his very murderers, " because," said ihey, " he 
is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all 
his heart." 

In these particulars, there is some- similitude between 
a British peer and me, comparing earthly to heavenly 
things, thoujdi the advantage is all on my side ; but in 
what foliowstheve is no comparison at all. 

1. What boundless generosity, and unmerited kind- 
ness, appear in my creation I I can plead nothing on 
the piety of my progenitors ; for my first father hath 
sinned, and so was an Amorite, and my mother an Bit* 
tite, and 1 myself a transgressor from the womb. Tho' 
pages; and mean-born persons, may have been raised 
from the dung-hill, and made ministers of state, yet 
what is that to my attainment ? For his mercy is great 
toward me, and he has delivered my soul from the low- 
est hell, and, in my spiritual peerage, exalted me to 
the highest heavens; so henceforth through all genera- 
tions I shall be blessed. 

2. Some have been ennobled for their real services 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 273 

to their king and country ; but the King of heaven needs 
nothing at my hand, yea, before my spiritual promo- 
tion, I was an alien, an enemy, a rebel to his govern- 
ment and glory. Now, though a rebel has now and 
then been reprieved and pardoned, yet never was a re- 
bel, who had spent his whole past life in acts of rebel- 
lion against his sovereign, taken immediately into fa- 
vour, and ennobled. O the depth of divine wisdom ! 
O the riches grace 1 

3. A nobleman, on his creation, assumes a aevs title; 
and whatever his name be, he henceforth is called, and 
subscribes himself by bis new title, and this is known" 
through the whole kingdom : So, on my spiritual ad- 
vancement, I am called by a new name, which the 
mouth of the Lord has named ; old things are passed 
i-way, and all things become new. But in this I excel 
all earthly peers, in obtaining a white stone and a new 
name, which no man knows out the happy receiver. 

i then, to walk like one on whom the name ol an in- 
carnate God is called; like one who, though he cannot 
name the very day on which he was ennobled, yet knows, 
that although he once lay among the pots, yet now he 
sits with Christ in heaveniy places ! 

4. A peer <tiso takes to himself a coat of arms, and 
a suuabie motto. Mine maybe a cross and a crown, 
anc the motto, " Holiness to the Lord." But here again, 

1 exceed all earthly peers, for their coats of arms are 
omj lifeless figures painted on their carriages, engra- 
ven on their plate, &c. ; but in my creation^ I am ar- 
rayed in complete armour, as my peerage is a military 
order, and I am no sooner taken into favour, and at 
peace with the Trinity of heaven, than I commence 
war, inveterate and unremitting war, with the trinity of 
hell, sin, Satan, and the world ; therefore I am com- 
pletely armed, having on my head the helmet of salva- 
tion, the breast-plate of righteousness, tne shield of 
faith, my loins girt about with truth, my feet shod with 
the preparation of the gospel of peace, and the sword 
of the Spirit, which is the word of God. David could 
not move nimbly in Saul's brazen heimet, and coat of 
mail ; but in mine I walk freely, I fight safely, and 
sleep softly ; nay, so far is it from being an encum- 
brance, that, if stript of my armour, I would be all in- 



2f4 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

activity and languor, assaulted on every side, and foil* 
ed by every foe. But I observe that I have no defence 
for my back, for such a man as I must never flee ; and, 
besides, this spiritual armour inspires me with such a 
heavenly boldness, that I rush on enemies, and cry out, 
" I am more than conqueror through him that loved 
me." 

5. When one is made a peer, he must be of an in- 
dependent fortune to support his rank : But, before my 
creation, I was such a naked beggar, that I had not a 
rag to cover me ; but now I am arrayed in broidered 
robes, robes of needle-work ; all glorious without by 
his imputed righteousness, all glorious within by his 
imparted grace. Besides, to support my dignity, there 
is a royal pension settied on me, and in such a manner, 
that I may spend like a prince, but cannot squander it 
away. I have a right to all the treasures of grace, to 
all the fulness of God. Now is the time of my minor- 
ity, during which I differ nothing from a servant, though 
lord of all : But when the day of glory comes, I shall 
enter on the full possession of the riches and treasures 
of glory and bliss, above the conception of the human 
mind. And, in the mean time, I shall have what is ne- 
cessary to bring me home to the King's palace. Great 
nuui here may have diamond buttons, and buckles set 
with diamonds; but the city of my King, where he and 
all his courtiers dwell, has foundations of precious 
stones, gates of pearls, and streets of gold. 

6. As mine is a military order, and all the powers of 
darkness are in arms against me, I have a noble guard 
appointed me ; not only thousands of angels strong, but 
God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in all his divine 
perfections. How safe am I, then, though in the land 
of enemies, though fighting my way through a dark and 
howling wilderness ! Yea, with such a guard I might 
march through the midst of hell without harm, and bid 
defiance to ail the fiends and furies of the bottomless 
pit I This guard is both around my house and my per- 
son, so that no ill shall come near my dwelling, and I am 
always in safety ; and, though invisible, is not less au- 
gust, is not less secure. 

7. Peerage among men respects only that kingdom 
to which the peers belong. A peer ©f Great-Britain is 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 275 

but a private person in every other country. He has 
no right to sit in state-affairs among their nobles, or to 
vote among their senators ; yea, he may not be known 
by name in the court of Persia, or of the Great Mogul. 
But I am a peer of the universe. Go where I will, my 
peerage is in force, my pension is continued, and my 
privileges remain. Though cast into prison, or ban- 
ished to some desolate isle, still I am clothed with my 
embroidered robe, appear in complete armour, and am 
attended by my royal guard. When the king of Eng- 
land creates a peer, he brings him to equal rank with 
the other peers, (and sometimes there is a mighty op- 
position against it, as just now, that it is a stain to the 
dignity of peerage to confer it on such an unworthy 
person,) but he never adopts them for sons. Then, 
sure am I, never was one more unworthy than I, and 
yet I am not only made a peer of heaven, but an heir 
of God, and a joint-heir with Christ, being first adop- 
ted as a son ; for if once children) then heirs. 

8. Sometimes the same king that has raised a person 
to the dignity of peerage, has been so incensed against 
him, that by his positive orders, a prosecution has been 
carried on against him, and he deprived both of hon- 
ours and life. But in spiritual things it is not so ; " for 
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. " 
When I offend my heavenly Sovereign, he may be an- 
gry, reprove, rebuke, correct me, but he will never 
take his kindness from me, never deprive me of life or 
honours ; and this divine security, instead of embold- 
ening me to rebel, will fill me with the noblest grati- 
tude, never to offend him. 

9. The King of Great Britain may raise a Baron to a 
Viscount, a Viscount to an Earl, an Earl to a Marquis, 
and a Marquis to a Duke ; but I look at length, (and 
am not accused of ambition or madness,) for a king- 
dom and a crown I an everlasting kingdom, and a crown 
that fedeth not away ; a crown of life, a crown of glory ! 
There is no comparison, then, between the peers of 
any realm, the princes of any empire, and me, wh© 
am made a priest, a king, and that to God, and through 
eternity itself. 

10. Though peers have access into their king's pre- 
sence at some; times, yet it would be improper if they 



276 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

had it at all times ; it would degrade royalty itself, if 
they might intrude into their presence any hour of the 
day, any watch ©f the night, at their own pleasure. 
Then, stand still, and wonder. O my soul ! at the con- 
descension of the high and lofty One, who inhabits 
eternity. I may present myself in his presence at the 
stated seasons of public warship, the hours of private 
and secret prayer, the retired moments of meditation, 
and in every company, and on every occurrence, by 
ejaculation. Yea, what time soever I awake, I may be 
with God, and rise at midnight to hold communion. 
with him. Now, though the strength of corruption, 
the weakness of grace, and the cares of this life, are 
distractions that daily drag me from the heavenly pre- 
sence, yet the time is coming when I shall dwell with 
the King in his palace, behold his beauty, and have the 
most intimate communion with him through all ever- 
more. 

11. In this, again, I surpass all the peers of Great- 
Britain ; for, though their dignity is both to themselves 
and heirs-male, my peerage is personal, and cannot 
descend to another, (but why should it ?) since this 
heavenly honour secures immortality to me. What 
a struggle is made for this rank ; with what avidity do 
they grasp at this grandeur, though in a few years they 
must be stript of all, and laid in the silent grave I But 
could it confer immortality, or lengthen life to a thou- 
sand years, would not the great men turn the world 
upside down, and barter all they had to obtain it ? Here, 
then, are a biessed immortality, and boundless joys 
before you. No costly ceremonies, no expensive fees 
here; only kiss the King's hand on your promotion; 
kiss the Son, and be ennobled for ever ; kiss the Son 
befure his wi ath burn against you for your disobedience, 
like the fiery oven. 

12. In this the spiritual peerage infinitely excels eve- 
ry peerage on the face of the earth ; for though my 
peerage can go to none of my relations, yet my parents, 
my brothers and sisters, wife and children, may all be 
made peers and peeresses. Yea, several of my ances- 
tors and dearest friends have already taken their seats 
in the upper house, not of a British senate, but of an 
heavenly assembly : And this is the grandeur of which 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 277 

I glory ; this is the nobility of which I boast. No mat- 
ter though their names be not so much as known on the 
footstool, if they shine before the throne> And it is no 
arrogance to plead for the same privileges for our rela- 
tions, our friends, that the King eternal has bestowed 
on ourselves. 

Now, when one is created a peer, however mean he 
was before his advancement, he is expected to behave 
suitably to his high rank and station ; and many eyes 
will be on him, the eye of his sovereign, the eye of the 
peerage, the eye of enemies, and the eye of the vulgar, 
from among whom he was taken. Just so, if the heav- 
enly favor has chosen me from the scum of Sodom, and 
the blackguards of Gomorrah, to such rank and dignity, 
my mind should be humble, but my walk should be ho- 
ly. I must break off with my former connexions in sin, 
and forget even my father's house and mine own peo- 
ple. How circumspect in all things shoukl I be, who 
have the eye of God, of saints, of sinners, and of Sa- 
tan, on me 1 

Again, though a peer is not always at court, yet his 
behaviour should always be courtly. Ke should act the 
nobleman in common things ; and so should I in all 
things act the Christian, and adorn the doctrine of God 
my Saviour, though not always actively engaged in the 
duties of religion. 

Moreover a peer is to attend to his dignity in his com- 
pany. Though he is never to be deaf to the cries, the 
requests, complaints, and wants of his fellow-creatures, 
yet he is not to associate with the low and mean. What 
appearance would it have for him to come from the roy- 
al presence, and sit down, and quaff and carouse with 
chairmen and porters? still worse to make bosom friends 
of the king's enemies, and give and receive visits from 
outlawed rebels. Thus, the carnal are too mean com- 
pany for me ; but to associate with profane and opea 
sinners, and to make bosom-friends of such as avow 
their rebellion against Heaven, is not the spot of a child 
of God. The more we are admitted into the heavenly 
presence, the less will we give our presence to those 
that know not God. 

Again, a peer should not speak the vulgar style of 
the rabble, but the language of the Court, which should 
Z 



2YS SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

fee the standard of language. So nothing can look worse 
than for a candidate for glory to speak profanely, ob- 
scenely, or it. oaihs and imprecations, or in excess of 
passion, or insipid trifling, since his speech should al- 
ways be with grace, seasoned with salt, to the use of 
edifying. 

Again? he should never be slovenly dressed, but ap- 
parelled according to his station. So I, on whom the 
divine Father has been pleased to put the best robe, 
should study to be holy in all manner of life and conver- 
sation ; to keep clean garments, and clean hands, and 
to keep myself unspotted from the world. 

Yet, again, a peer should be of a noble turn of mind* 
He should not stoop to mean, though profitable employ- 
ment ; he should not trouble himself because some en- 
vy his high station, and others pay not that respect to 
him which is his due; he should be liberal to the nee- 
dy, and ready to forgive injuries, and scorn to avenge 
himself, seeing the laws of his sovereign will take cog- 
nizance of every insult offered to him in due season. 
Sol should be of an heavenly turn of mind, and scorn 
to be greatly concerned about earthly things, who have 
the treasures of eternity before me. How little should 
I repaid the applause or dispraise of a passing world ? 
According to my ability, I should do good to all, espe- 
cially to those that are of the household of faith ; but I 
should be frank in forgiving injuries, and repaying ili 
with good. Under the most injurious treatment I may 
commit my matters to him that will bring forth my 
righteousness as the noon-day. In a word, though re- 
proach and poverty,, sickness and death, rob me of all 
my present comforts; yet so vast is the heavenly bliss, 
and so rich the treasures that are secured to me in heav- 
en, that in the very prospect I desire to lose my pre- 
sent pain, and, in the midst of every grief, to rejoice 
in hope of the glory of God. 

Finally, a peer inspired with gratitude, will exert 
himself constantly to advance the glory of his king, and 
the good of his country ; so, since exalted to this heav- 
enly honour, the glory of God, the good of his church, 
and the salvation of souls, will be my daily request, my 
heart's desire, my daily prayer, and, according to my 
station, the struggle and endeavour of my whole life. 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 279' 

MEDITATION CXLI. 

THE SINGULAR ADVANTAGES OF POVERTY. 

Dec. 30, 1782. 

The very title of this meditation may perhaps pro- 
voke, at least surprise, many a pious soul. — '* What ad- 
vantage can it be, (may they say,) to be reproached, de«^ 
spised, oppressed, and in pinching straits, all which 
are concomitants on a state of poverty V But I beg their 
patience a little, before they conclude. 

" Labour not to be rich," is an inspired direction, but 
quite disregarded by saint and sinner, by professor and 
profane ; for the unwearied labour of all is for inde- 
pendence, opulence, and grandeur ; and repeated dis- 
appointments never stop the pursuit, but only vary the 
plan, and multiply the schemes to attain it. 

When heaven is pleased to bless with abundance, my 
humility, gratitude, and holiness, ought to be conspic- 
uous ; but when he is pleased to appoint poverty to at- 
tend as invariably as the shadow does the body, then en- 
tire approbation of the conduct of Providence is incum- 
bent on me. 

Ihe ca^e of the Jews under the Old-Testament dis- 
pensation wili not apply to Christians under the New ; 
for us their service was more carnal, so their rewards 
were more of a temporal nature, and both were typical 
of the more spiritual worship and rewards under the 
New ; yet directions, cautions, promises, and consola- 
tions, suited to the poor and needy, sparkle through all 
the Old-Testament writings, like stars in the firmament 
of heaven. 

Riches cannot give that felicity which is expected by 
all that are in the keen pursuit of them ; and persons in 
very moderate circumstances enjoy all the comforts of 
life as well as the rich, and with a much better relish : 
So that the advantages on the side of riches are rather 
imaginary than real. 

We shall view some of the advantages of poverty by 
glancing, first, at the hurt that riches often bring to im- 
mortal souls. 

1. They make men confident in themselves, " We 
are lords, we will come no more unto thee." There 
lire few that, like Job, ean say, " If I have made gold 



280 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

nay hope, or said to the most fine gold, Thou art mjr 
confidence : For it is very natural to trust in uncertain 
riches ; therefore the apostle exhorts from it. The 
rich man is apt to swell in his own opinion ; his word 
must go far, his smile be esteemed a favour, and his ve- 
ry look a condescension ; yea, while the poor man's 
wisdom is despised, his wisdom is genuine and sterling. 

2. Pride is often attendant on riches. It is curious 
to observe how some men's spirits rise and fall with 
their fortune. Is he in affluence — he is haughty, reser- 
ved, and overbearing : Is he in indigence — he is polite, 
and humble, affable, and even cringing. Nothing is 
more odious to God than pride, and W the proud he 
knoweth afar off;" and " them that walk in pride he i§ 
able to abase." Again, 

3. Dependence on self is another concomitant on rich- 
es. Here men sacrifice to their drag, and burn incense 
to their net. One depends on his own genius in litera- 
ture, another on his fertile invention for some new thing 
in mechanics; one builds on his own industry in agri- 
culture, another on his application to business in the 
mercantile line ; and another blesses his good fortune ; 
but in all these things God is neither seen nor acknowl- 
edged ; andean any other rock be like our Rock, even 
the rich themselves being judges ? 

4. Earthly-mindedness is too often a fruit of riches ; 
and there is a deceit in riches that insensibly draws aside 
from communion with God. When Israel walked in a 
land that was not sown, he was holiness to the Lord ; 
but when Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked. 

There is, I confess, a variety of cares attendant on 
poverty; but the cares with which riches are encum- 
bered, are of a more dangerous nature. The cares of 
the needy naturally point heavenward, and there is a 
voice in them, that implores the pity, pleads the prom- 
ise, and claims the protection of God ; but the cares of 
the rich are about their growing sums and worldly af- 
fairs : insomuch that Solomon says, " Their abundance 
will not suffer them to sleep." 

5. Distractions, and a multiplicity of affairs, attend 
on riches, as the shadow follows the body. Generally 
speaking, the rich are strangers to retirement and soli- 
tude, to mental ease and tranquility. Stiil eager to pos- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 28) 

sess greater and greater sums, they pursue their world- 
ly affairs with unabating ardor. Perhaps, in the midst 
of their career, they lose a round sum, and then resolve, 
if they had made up this loss, that then they will retire 
from business, and turn religious in their old age. But 
one event after another continues their chase of created 
good, postpones their designs, and gives their resolu- 
tions the lie ; so that they retire from business and life 
at once, and are no more. 

6. The rich have a very hard task to discharge their 
duty to all around them. They are but stewards over 
their own riches, and have no allowance to consume 
aught of it on their own lusts, or on their luxury. The 
naked have a claim on the fleece of their flock, the hun- 
gry to be fed from their table, and the stranger to be 
lodged under their roof. As much is committed to 
them, so not only men, but Heaven will expect the 
more. They must give an account according to their 
talents ; and, being in high station, their example must 
have influence on others around them ; therefore it is 
incumbent on them, not only to behave well themselves, 
but to act well to others, in a manner which cannot be 
expected from the poor. 

7. The rich are exposed to snares and temptations, 
various, and well suited to corrupt nature. Instead of 
naming them, I bid my readers cast an eye on the lives 
of the rich in general, (though here and there some of 
this class are to be found, who serve their God in the 
abundance of all things,) and they will see h«w riches 
procure fuel to the fire of every corruption, and drown* 
men in endless perdition. Stealing has generally been 
set to the account of poverty ; but the real poor, the 
truly needy, are not the thieves that infest the king- 
dom; and some, not only in easy, but in opulent cir- 
cumstances, have been more infamous for knavish prac- 
tices, than the poorest beggar from door to door, while 
they have not the least pretext of necessity for their 
crime. In a word, it is grace, not riches, that can keep 
men honest from a right principle ; and stealing is ra- 
ther to be placed to the account of depravity than pov- 
erty. 

I shall now name some of the positive advantages of 
poverty, that the poor may rejoice, rather than despond, 
Z 2 



282 solitude sweetened; oh, 



1 



1. Conformity to Christ in his state of humiliation, 
who, though heir of all things, had not where to lay his 
head. Though we are not to refuse what Providence 
bestows on us, and, like some of the orders of the 
church of Rome, make a profession of voluntary pov- 
erty, from a fond conceit that thus we shall be like to, 
and accepted of him ; yet we are not to murmur or 
complain, since we, who have forfeited all, are in no 
worse condition in this world, than the Former of all 
things was when in our world. Can we call no house 
our own, but must sleep in a borrowed bed, subsist on 
a homely, coarse, or scanty meal ? Have we small in- 
comes, little cash, and no credit, and depend entirely 
on the charity of others ? Well, so was the Captain of 
our salvation, who was made perfect through sufferings; 
and, if we are rightly exercised, our graces shall grow 
more and more perfect under the various pressures of 
an afflicted lot. 

2. Poverty gives a claim on the compassion of God. 
None could ever go to a throne of grace, and say, I 
am rich and prosperous, therefore hear my request. In- 
deed, chief favorites, and great noblemen, have their 
requests granted in the courts of kings ; but the King 
eternal " looks to the man that is poor and of a con- 
trite spirit, " and who can plead, " But I am poor and 
ueetly, make haste unto me, O God" And well may 
the pool plead with that God, who, by his prophet, has 
said, " I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and 
poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the 
Lord ;" and says the apostle, " Has not God chosen the 
poor of this world, rich in faith ?" O the vast odds be- 
tween heaven and earth, between God and men ! Here 
" the brethren of the poor go far from him, he follows 
them with words, but they are wanting to him." Thus 
u the destruction of the poor is his poverty." But what 
a sweet relation commences between God and the poor ! 
He is their help, their shield, their kind provider ; so 
that, both in a temporal and spiritual sense, u When 
the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and 
their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them ; 
I the God of Jacob will not forsake them." He puts 
himself down as surety in the poor man's bond, and de- 
clares, that " he that giveih to the poor, lencletb to the 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATION*, tfyl 

Lord ; M and as a good surety, he will not fail to repay 
him. Now, if this noble connexion, and divine relation, 
will not balance all the perplexity, pain, and reproach, 
attendant on poverty, to the pious soul, what will do it ? 
In a word, at the general judgment in the great day, 
the final sentence to the righteous and the wicked will 
be awarded, though not for, yet according to the kind 
er unkind usage of his poor, needy, and persecuted fol- 
lowers in the world. 

3. The poor have a daily dependence on God ; and 
if their provision were more, their dependence might 
be less. The rich men in the gospel, forgetting the 
heavenly favour, builds for futurity on the plenty he 
had amassed ; but his folly is corrected, by his soul be- 
ing demanded of him in a moment. A servant 'does 
not expect that the provision of a week, a month, or a 
year, should be set in his sight at every meal : he de- 
pends on his master, is content with his food, and at- 
tends to his service : Just so, why should God's poor 
despond ? It is enough if they are fed from hand to 
mouth ; when the hand of God is seen in their supply, 
their wants are relieved, and their faith feasted. He is 
a master whose servants need have no anxious care for 
futurity. In feeding them from day to day. they have 
a daily communion with him in his providences, as well 
as in his ordinances. The i02d psalm is called, " a 
prayer for the afflicted ;" so the fourth petition may be 
called a petition for the poor, and properly belongs to 
them ; for though we may seek spiritual blessings for 
all the ages of eternity, yet we are to seek temporal 
good things oniy from day to day. And as this petition 
directs us to be moderate in our requests for created 
good, so it informs us after what manner, generally 
speaking, God will provide his people, that it will be 
enly from day to day. Hence it becomes absolutely ne- 
cessary for a saint in poverty, to depend on God at all 
times, and to depend on him alone. And, by this needy 
dependence, he puts honour on the power, on the com- 
passion, on the promise, and on the providence of God : 
nor shall he ever be disappointed. 

4. They have a sweet submission to the will of God. 
Indeed it is grace, not poverty, that can produce this 
heavenly temper ; but when the poor see such a display 



284 SOLITUDE SWEETENED; OR, 

of all the divine perfections in their daily supply, suck 
condescension, such care of God concerning them, they 
approve of their lot, and submit, cheerfully submit, to 
the divine disposal. The poor not only have good cause 
to be submissive, but thankful, since to those who im- 
prove poverty aright our Saviour has said, in his sermon 
on the mount, " Blessed are the poor in spirit ;" and f 
in another sermon on the plain, " Blessed are the poor" 
in state ; as appears by the contrast, as he says to those 
that take riches for their portion, " Wo to you that are 
rich, for ye have received your consolation." 

5. Humility is another attendant or fruit of poverty ; 
and indeed, a poor proud person is as great a contra- 
diction in nature, as to say a sick strong man, or a swift 
lame man. Pride is so hateful to God, so hurtful to the 
soul, that poverty is a cheap cure for such a distemper. 
And humility is so lovely in the eyes of God, and pour- 
trays such a beauty on the soul, that God condescends 
to dwell there ; while from the proud he not only stands 
afar off, hut knows them afar off. Affluence and pros- 
perity are the soil where corruptions are most luxuriant 
in their growth ; while poverty and affliction are the 
soil where graces thrive best. It is so natural for the 
best men to forget themselves, when brought to riches 
and honour, that infinite wisdom, who knows best what 
is in us, sees a state of mediocrity, or even of indi- 
gence, most proper for the heirs of heaven. And the 
very word, " an heir of heaven !" is enough to balance 
all that can be perplexing, afflicting, or calamitous, in 
our lot below. When Israel walked after God, in a 
land that was not sown, then he was holiness to the 
Lord; but, when Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked, and 
grew forgetful of God that formed him. 

People in pinching circumstances may be apt to think 
it impossible for them to abuse a state of opulence, 
would Heaven bestow it upon them. So Hazael, ser- 
vant to Benhadad king of Syria, stood astonished at the 
prophet's prediction, that on his advancement to royal 
authority, he should become a monster of cruelty, 
and exclaims, " Is thy servant a dog, that he should 
do this ?" But no sooner does the servant commence 
a sovereign, than the man becomes a dog. So, oft- 
times, no sooner does the poor become rich, than he 



I 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 285 

becomes proud towards man, and impious towards 
God, to such a degree, that frequently the change 
is greater in his conversation than in his circum- 
stances. In this respect God deals with the great- 
er part of his people, as a prudent parent does with 
his child ; give him no sharp weapons to play with, 
lest, in spite of the parent's admonitions, and the 
child's fair promises, he might wound himself with 
them. It is true, some eminent saints, (I say but some,) 
are both rich and in high station ; but then grace is giv- 
en to them, suiting to that very station they are in. 
And when I find myself in straitening circumstances, I 
may conclude, that this very state is absolutely neces- 
sary, either to suppress some sin that might otherwise 
sprout up, or to exercise some grace that otherwise 
might lie dorment, and thus is most conducive both to 
God's glory, and mine own good. 

6. Poverty calls to the exercise of certain graces, 
which Christians in opulence cannot so properly be 
actually engaged in, though every saint has every grace 
in the habit. The rich cannot depend on God for their 
daily bread, in the same manner that the needy do. 
And when the poor, in their pinching straits, and re- 
peated trials and disappointments, are enabled to let pa- 
tience have her perfect work, to a full resignation to, 
and approbation of the disposal of providence in their 
lot, and have a sweet recumbency on the faithfulness 
and kindness of a reconciled God ; thereby he is glo- 
rified, and their souls enriched for a world to come. 

Again, the saints in poverty have a sweet display of 
a special providence towards them, and the small things, 
and petty sums they receive, have a relish to them, 
above the vast and yearly incomes of the rich ; because 
these come, as it were from the immediate hand of 
God, are the answer of their prayers, and the fruit of 
their faith. As in an indigent state wants daily return, 
so faith is daily necessary ; and the daily actings of 
faith ®n an all-sufficient God, of ail Christian graces 
glorifies God most, putting honour on all his perfec- 
tions, on his truth and faithfulness, his power and im- 
mutability, his wisdom and mercy ! And the soul that 
in the highest degree glorifies God in time, shall be 
glorified in an higher degree in heaven ; for the seeds 



286 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

dow sown with weeping shall yield sheaves of comfort 
then, and the happy reapers shall rejoice for ever. 
Now, though the men of the world only connect one- 
time with another, because they have no hope for eter- 
nity, yet the saints connect this and the eternal state ; 
therefore, it matters not how much we suffer here, if 
God may thereby be more glorified on earth, and we 
more glorified in heaven. If, then, poverty, with the 
divine blessing, promotes this noble end, can any deny 
its singular advantages ? If the soul goes out towards 
God, has the world crucified to him, and is crucified 
to the world ; if he esteems the heavenly bliss a suffi- 
cient portion, looks not at the things that are seen, 
commits all to God, welcomes every cross that comes 
from God, approves of that lot which he appoints, and 
in every thing depends, relies, confides on God, for 
himself and his children to the latest posterity ; and if 
he has his little allowance, (for he does not wish for 
much.) insured in the bank of heaven, (and after gen- 
erations shall observe it safe, while the great sums 
amassed by worldly-minded men and misers, are often 
in a short time so entirely consumed, that their heirs 
have nothing :) Is he a loser by poverty ? 

Finally, what though God lead me through a terri- 
ble wilderness, and feed me in the wilderness in a man- 
ner which the rich know not, since it is to humble me, 
and prove me, and do me good at my latter end, even 
te do me good world without end ? 



MEDITATION CXLII. 

A JOURNEY ALONG THE SEA-SHORE. 

Sept. 2, 1783. 

I. At the commencement of my journey, I must 
take a passuge-boat ; and how noble the contrivance, 
thus to be wafted from shore to shore ! Let me see di- 
vine wisdom shining in the devices of men. 

Here 1 find old and young, male and female, men of 
different stations and various employments ; and in the 
safety of the vessel we are all equally interested. This 
is a picture of human society ; for, in the felicity of a 
family every member should share, in the happiness of 



> 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 287 

a nation every individual should rejoice, and in the 
peace of Jerusalem all should triumph. 

The sea is a stormy element; the winds roar, the 
waves rage, and some of the passengers are both fear- 
ful and very sick, though others are cheerful and cour- 
ageous. Thus is our voyage through human life ; tem- 
pests attack us, various afflictions rage around us, and 
inward grief and vexation make us sick at the very 
heart ; but some have a more pleasant passage through 
life, and others, by a steady faith in God, remain tran- 
quil and serene. We meet other passage-boats, and 
with the same wind we pass them, and reach opposite 
shores ; so saints and sinners, whether adversity or 
prosperity fill their sails, steer for opposite shores. 

2. I find, in some parts on the shore, a scarcity of 
good fresh water; and yet an ocean of water swells be- 
fore them. So, some men, in the midst of all abun- 
dance, never taste of true joy, or solid consolation. y 
And the whole creation, to an immortal soul, will prove 
but like salt water to a thirsty man, never able to allay 
his drought, or ease his grief. 

But the inhabitants, having other conveniences, put 
up with this ; and, alas ! shall not we often put up with 
greater losses for trifles r How many sit still under er- 
roneous preachers, rather than forego the least conven- 
iency to hear an evangelical minister ? 

3. Travelling along the coast, I come among some 
very sinking sands, which makes my journey both pain- 
ful and tedious ; but, when I reach the sands that are 
often washed with the sea, I walk with -'ease and delight. 
So it is safer and sweeter to walk in an afflicted lot, that 
is often washed with the briny wave of adversity, than 
in the wealth and ease of the worldling. 

4. I find cloth laid down within the sea-mark, to pre- 
pare for whitening, and left to be covered by the waves, 
and so secured, that when the sea retires, the owners 
find all safer. Even so, afflictions and trials shall pre- 
pare the saints for glory ; and though, in their own eyes, 
and in the eyes of others, they may seem drowned in 
distress, and cry out, " All thy waves and thy billows 
are gone over me," yet well does the heavenly Owner 
know how to preserve, in the midst of great waters, his 
own, and at last to deliver out of all trouble, and pre- 



2SS MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 

sent them faultless before his presence with exceeding 

joy- 

5. It is now tide of ebb, and, though the waves roll 
with fury, and threaten to recover what they have lost, 
still they retire, till all the shore iB left dry ; so, O saint ! 
so, O soul ! shall it be with thy corruptions ; they may 
rage and threaten to return, but still they shall lose 
ground, till they shall never more be seen. Though 
corruptions should seem as strong as ever, yet the time 
of their continuance is daily growing shorter ; and this 
may be comfort to many a poor soul, that, though sin 
should rage never so fiercely, still it is but the last ef- 
forts, the desperate struggles of a deadly wounded en- 
emy, — But the tide of flood calls to mind the melancho- 
ly case of sinners ; for, though the waves seem often to 
recoil and relinquish what they had gained, still every 
succeeding billow advances further than the former, till 
the briny surge possesses all the shore ; so, whatever 
checks of conscience, and partial reformations may take 
place, still the wicked proceed from evil to worse, till 
the soul is drowned in sin, and lost in perdition. 

6. What abundant variety of all things does the sea 
produce ! The ground that lies along the coast is en- 
riched with sea-weeds, and is very fertile ; our tables 
are supplied from the deeps ; and sometimes, when the 
crop has failed, the ocean has poured in its plenty, and 
supplied the poor. Such is the divine goodness. It is 
an ocean that supplies all our wants, and still overflows. 
From him come all our comforts, from him our bles- 
sings flow ; and still they overflow. He gives grace, 
and he will give glory : He gives himself, and that is 
all in all. 

7. Fields enriched with every grain, and verdent pas- 
tures stored with flocks and herds, are not far off, but 
my hap is to walk along a barren shore, and to have the 
foaming billows my attendants ; many a traveller has 
gone this way, and a new road is not to be made for my 
fancy and pleasure : So must the sons of men, so must 
I, walk in that very path Providence has appointed me, 
however rugged, however afflicting it may prove ! It 
is the way, and no other, that will lead to our better 
country, to our Father's house. To be running every 
now and then in quest of a more pleasant way, will 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 289 

only add to my toil, and lengthen my journey; just so, 
to fret under affliction, and to be discontented with our 
condition, may make us more miserable, and add edge 
to our anguish, but can do us no good U is comfort, 
though the road he rugged that it leads me tothe house of 
my friend ; so, if I arrive at last at my heavenly Father's 
house, who is a friend that sticketh closer than a broth- 
er, I ought to put up with every disaster by the way. 

8. I have walked a good way ail alone, but I have had 
company for some miles, bu: such company, that I wel- 
come my solitude again. Let this be a caution to be 
slow in choosing companions ; and how happy they who 
have agreeable, godly companions, along the crooked 
road of life, whose pious colloquies will brighten the 
day, shorten the way, and cheer each other to their 
journey's end. 

9. Sands that were lately covered with the tide, by a 
strong wind are now blown in my face ; a sudden change 
indeed ! And how soon do people that have been in 
deep affliction forget themselves, and turn frothy I Our 
natural vanity and levity is so great, that none but the 
Searcher of hearts can know it. 

10. I find a man sitting in something lrke a centry- 
box, and take him for a criminal ; but how surprised, 
on inquiry, to find that he is a kind of judge, ami deter- 

|iriines disputes on shore. More surprised shail thou- 
sands be at the great day, to see the saints, who have 
been held as criminals, and as such have been banish- 
ed, beheaded, and burnt, sit judges on the world, and 
on angels, 

11. By nature and art, I find doves dwelling securely 
in the rocks ; the ocean foams before them, the tem- 
pests roar around them 3 but they are safe at home ; and, 
on their nimble wings, fly where they will : So, safe are 
the saints who dwell in the Rock Christ, in the rock of 
ages; and on the wing of faith they fly from all sur- 
rounding ills, to the heavenly rest, the land of promise, 
and paradise of bliss. 

12. A fine shower falls from heaven, and falls on the 
salt sea with the same abundance that itdoes on the fruit- 
ful field, or pasture ground. This seems a waste, for 
the sea cannot becomr a whit fresher by all the rain that 
if receives; but who knows but a ship, too lonsr on her 

Aa 



£9® SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; Oft, 

voyage, and grown scarce of water, is catching on her 
sails the kindly shower, and preserving alive many per- 
sons ? To how many has the gospel been preached that 
have never believed the heavenly report ? .Among thorns, 
by the way-side, and on stony ground, has the good seed 
been sown, which came to nothing ; but Heaven will 
be sovereign in his kindness to all, and sinners inexcu- 
sable who perish in their unbelief. 

13. Innumerable creatures sport in the main, and a 
variety of water-fowl fly along the shore. There is an 
clement for every creature, and every creature loves and 
lives in its element. Then, am I an expectant of hea- 
ven, and a candidate for glory, and yet wallow in earth- 
ly things? If born from above, I shall find delight iu 
spiritual things, and desire to be above. 

14. When come in sight of, and not far distant from 
the house to which I go, a little rivulet presents itself, 
through which 1 must go, or be disappointed of the 
pleasure I promise myself on visiting my friends. I 
learn there is a bridge for foot-passengers, but neither 
for horses nor carriages, built by some friendly hand 
over the stream ; but many a traveller knows nothing 
of this bridge, and so must take the stream, whatever 
may ensue. This minds me of death, which stands be 
tween me and my Father's house, and presents itself ai 
the end of my journey. However terrible it may ajf? 
pear, the prospect of communion with God may make 
me leap through all dangers. Christ, indeed, has built 
a bridge for his chosen to pass over; but over this bridge 
we can carry neither honors, nor riches, nor relations, 
but, stript of all, must walk alone, under the conduct 
of our heavenly Guide. But, alas ! how few know of 
this bridge, how few find it, and hew many perish in 
the stream ! 

15. At last I reach the dear house for which I under- 
took my journey, and find a hearty reception from all 
my kind and much esteemed friends. So at last shall 
ali the saints, and so may we, arrive at the house of the 
livinp. God, and be blessed with the society of saints and 
angels, and ravished with communion with God and the 
Lamb. When arrived at this state of everlasting rest, 
I shall forget the dangers of my journey, and the trou- 
bles of my lot ; I shall be filled with unspeakable joy in 



H 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 29 J 

his presence, and feasted with the fatness of his house 
for ever. 

However happy here, a short time must finish my vi- 
sit, and I must return the very same way that I came r 
but the bliss above is everlasting. I shall never quit the 
society of saints and angels, 1 shall never goou: of his 
temple, I shall never rise from his banquet, I shall nev- 
er depart from his throne, never cease to behold his 
glory, nor be silent in his praise ; but my whole soul, 
in every ravished power, shall be full of God, and g© 
wholly out on God for ever. 



MEDITATION CXLIII. 

BRITISH STATE-LOTTERY. 

March 8, 1786. 
I shall not here attempt to discuss how far state-lot- 
teries are lawful, or not ; but so well does government 
suit the bait to the ambition or avarice of men, by some 
capital prizes, that there is always a world of adventur- 
ers ; and as among them there may be some well-mean- 
ing persons, I shall drop a few thoughts for their con- 
sideration. 

We should have a firm belief of a divine, over- 
ling Providence, and no dependence on blind chance, 
"herefore, such persons are reproved, who, to secure 
r success, rather purchase a share in several tickets, than 
one whole ticket ; but the wheel of providence can tura 
up sixteen blanks as well as one. 

2. We should never adventure from a principle of 
avarice ; for we cannot ask from Heaven what we have 
no use for ; and it is not safe to have any thing under 
the sun but from the kind hand of God ; so, when we 
adventure, we should have the call of Providence by 
some pressing circumstances we are in at the time. 

3. We should never buy deep, but such a share as 
will neither hurt our circumstances, nor ruffle our tem- 
per, though it turn out a blank. 

4. If we be rich, and will support government by- 
purchasing in the lottery, if it turns out a prize, the 
greater part thereof should be laid out in pious and char- 
table uses. What good might thus be done to num- 
bers ©f needy families, and unfortunate persons I 



292 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

5. Our expectations should never be high. Often. 
even a capita) prize has done more ill than good to the 
receiver. The provision of kind providence is better 
for our children than any sum ; and there is a blessing 
on that which is got with honest industry. 

6. If, after waiting- some lime, and expecting a little 
sum to help us cut of some pressing strait, we only get 
si blank, yet, let us still consider, that Providence" is 
neither exhausted nor nonplussed ; and that though 
this, and that, and the other scheme fail, he never fails 
his people. 

I shell next give a caution or two. 

1. If a prize is drawn, (1.) Talk not of good lock, 
but acknowledge Providence, for nothing comes by 
chance (2.) Be rather humble than high-minded, 
more afraid of hurt to your soul, than assured of ad- 
vantage to your state. (3.) Infer not from your good 
success that you ore the favorites of Heaven, for 
" no man knoweth love or hatred by all that is before 
him." (4.) Implore the blessing of Heaven to come 
along with it to you and yours. Without this how 
many have suffered very much by the sudden accu- 
mulation of wealth ? They have been taken out of 
their proper sphere, turn giddy-headed, and squan 
der away what they possessed, till, with shame aj 
anguish of mind, they sink to that station from whenc 
they arose, or lower. (5.) Do not think much 
what heaven thinks so little of, for often riches are 
bestowed on the basest of men, and are employed to 
the worst of purposes ; they can procure no quiet to 
a wounded conscience, cannot avail a person tossing 
on a death-bed, a sinner trembling before the judg- 
ment-seat, or an immortal soul through eternity. — 
(6.) Keep a memorandum of your resolutions, both 
as to the frame of your mind, and your bounty to- 
wards pious and charitable uses, which often read 
over, and never depart from. 

2. If a blank or a trifle is drawn, (l.) Acquiesce 
cheerfully. You may be in the wrong in attempting to 
be rich in such a manner. But, should conscience ac- 
quit you, still give God the honour of his sovereign- 
ty, who does whatever he pleases, and gives no ac- 
count of his ways. Give him also the honour of his 



1 

ire ' 



I 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 293 

wisdom, who knows best what is best for yon, and do 
not prescribe to Omnisciency himself. (2.) Consider, 
that often those children do best that have no large 
sums from their parents. Now, it is often more for 
our children than for ourselves that we seek riches ; yet, 
how often have the riches of the parent been a means 
to ruin the character, the morals, and the very consti- 
tution of their children i 

But now, to compare earthly with heavenly things, 
— can we be so happy in the mere expectation of a 
prize, where we may be readily disappointed, and 
not exult in the heavenly treasures, which can never 
deceive us ? Can we find such pangs of joy in a prize 
of 20,000/ which we may spend to a farthing, and 
must leave behind us, and yet our hearts not beat 
with rapturous joy. at the heavenly gift, at the pearl 
of great price, being eternally our own ? If a little 
of this world place us in such easy circumstances in. 
life, how enriching the treasures of glory i Let me 
accept only, and the bank of bliss will bestow, not the 
trifling sum of a few thousands, but durable riches 
and righteousness. There is no blank here to stab 
our expectation, and sadden our countenance ; no, 
but a kingdom and a crown, endless bliss, and end- 
less glory. The greatest sum now cannot prevent 
me from becoming a bankrupt ; but, instead of spend- 
ing my celestial stores, they cannot so much as be 
counted or told ; but a few figures will contain all 
the sums that were ever lost or gained in every stace- 
lottery, in every land. How poor the richest mor- 
tal ! how rich the meanest saint 1 Earthly things only 
please an earthly appetite, but here the joys of para- 
dise, the bliss of angels, and all the perfections of God, 
feast and ravish for ever. 

Had this lottery no blank, how numerous would the 
adventurers be I out the heavenly liberality has no 
blank, none shall be disappointed, but have prizes, large 
as wish, and boundless as desire. 

Here, if a person gets a prze, or a share in a cap- 
ital prize, it is the most that he can expect; bur those 
who will accept of the heavenly bounty, shall have 
every enriching prize, ^not for the short period of six- 
ty, eighty, or an hundred years ; he shall have pardon, 
A a 2 



294 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

of sin, peace with God, growth in grace, joy in be- 
lieving ; in a word, heaven, and all the joys of para- 
dise ; endless life, and all the glories of eternity ; and 
God and his infinite fulness, world without end. 



MEDITATION CXLIV. 

ON THE WORKS OF CREATION. 

Jan. 20, 1790. 

Before I enter on this meditation, I premise a few 
things: 1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
wisdom, the best, the noblest of all knowledge. 2. 
Many a pious soul has gone, and many may go to heav- 
en, that knows but little of the theory of the starry fir- 
inament. 3. The belief or disbelief of these things is 
merely indifferent with respect to the concerns of sal- 
vation. 4. As our salvation depends nothing upon such 
a knowledge, we can expect no account thereof in rev- 
elation. 5. By way of analogy, however, comparing 
that part of creation which we know not with that part 
which we know, I have as firm a belief of these things, 
as of any thing else that comes not within scripture- 
authority, mathematical demonstration, or historical 
narrative. 6. Great philosophers, surveying the works 
of creation, may have their heads full of shining knowl- 
edge, and yet at last arrive at the darkness of eternal 
night. 

Every thing is full of God. How is our earth re- 
plenished, air and seas crowded with inhabitants ! Ev- 
ery blade is covered with life, and every liquid abounds 
with animalcule ; so that we have and endless field for 
admiration, gratitude, and wonder, on our terraqueous 
globe. 

But why should we think our earth the only planet in 
our system that is peopled ? If we are not so near the 
sun as some of the other planets, we are attended by a 
moon, while some that are more distant still have four 
or five moons, and are of tremendous magnitude, com- 
pared to cur globe. Why, then, should one primary 
planet only of seven, and it neither the least nor the 
largest, neither the nearest to the sun, nor the most 
distant from him, be inhabited, and all the rest desolate 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 295 

and empty ? Philosophy can give no reason, and revela- 
tion does give none. Now, to a mind that would ad- 
mire the glory of the Creator, what a noble prospect is 
our system I So many worlds of intelligent creatures, 
living on his providence, and paying him the tribute of 
praise ! the philosophers in every planet, inferring, that 
the rest must be inhabited as well as theirs, and with 
growing wonder adoring the supreme Creator of ah ! 

Moreover, at immense distances on every hand, be- 
yond all the planets of our system, we see a great ma- 
ny fixed stars with our naked eye, and by the help of 
telescopes, millions more ; and the better the glasses 
are, still more distant and starry firmaments, rich trea- 
sures of creating power, are brought into view, and as- 
tonish every beholder. How vast the survey may stili 
grow, as glasses may be further and further improved, 
I shall not dare to conjecture. Let us, then, suppose 
their present number, as is by some supposed, to be 
seventy millions, and that every star is a sun, as big and 
as bright at least as our sun. As our sun, which is but 
a star to them, is the centre of a system, and affords 
light and heat to all the planets that roll round him ; so 
these globes, which are no more than stars to us, are 
suns to their own systems. That never a planet in any* 
of these systems has been seen, or can be seen, is no 
argument against their existence, since some of the 
planets in our own system have escaped every astrono- 
mer till of late ; and who can tell but that more worlds 
still, in some future period, may be found to belong to 
our system ? And, considering that they are at such a 
vast distance, that a sun appears but a star, how can 
planets, that shine with a reflected light be seen ? Now, 
if we suppose every system, like ours, to have seven 
primary planets, what an immensity of worlds this I 
Four hundred and ninety millions of worlds, all inhabit- 
ed with rational creatures i And if, again, we suppose 
the inhabitants of every planet to be as numerous as in 
our earth, here calculation is baffled, and conception 
fails 1 If the kind's honour be in the multitude of the 
people, what honour must belong to the King of kings, 
who not only can claim the cattle on a thousand hills, 
but the inhabitants of millions of systems, and all the an- 
gels of light ? 



296 solitude sweetened; or*, 

It is calculated, that seventy or eighty thousand die 
day by day in our earth ; but let us suppose that only a 
thousand* daily are translated from every world, yet thus 
the number that arrive at the world of spirits for one 
day, is four hundred and ninety thousand millions! No 
arm but an omnipotent can support such legions, no eye 
but an omniscient can survey the whole. Well may we, 
with astonishment, join Bildad, and cry, " Is there any 
number of his armies ? and upon whom does not the 
light" of his glory " arise ?" 

In contemplating such a plurality of worlds, a plea- 
sant prospect opens, that perhaps sin is only known in. 
our earth, but that all these continue in that state of in- 
nocence in which they were created. Often have we 
been dimculted to see the goodness of God over all his 
works, while we behold such multitudes of human soula 
going down to the chambers of death ; and understand, 
that for ages the worshippers of the true God were con- 
fined to the nation of the Jews and a few proselytes ; 
and even in the more extensive^ spread of the gospel, to 
so few nations is the Christian name hitherto confined, 
that it may be said, The world lieth in wickedness 1 

But how pleasant to reflect, that while, in sovereign- 
ty, the sinners in our globe shall feel the wrath of a 
tremendous Jehovah, all these millions of inhabited 
worlds, retaining their primitive innocence, walk in 
the light of his countenance, and sing the praises of 
their adored Creator ! Now, though our whole system 
were both sinfui and miserable, how small is it among 
so many ! But when sin is know T n only in one planet, 
and but a part of the inhabitants of that planet left un- 
der its fatal influence, we may infer, that all the sons 
of perdition are but like the small dust of the balance 
to the totality of happy beings ! 

Should it be objected, How do we know but that sin 
has made its way into many, or into all these worlds ? 
I answer, From the holiness and goodness of God, who 
will never suffer sin to take place where it cannot be 
counteracted. As God is the first cause and last end 
of all, so he cannot but make all things for himself, all 
things for his own glory. Now, sin can never be for his 
glory, (for, as it is sin, it strikes against his holiness, 
and, as it plunges his creatures into eternity, it strikes 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 29f 

against his goodness,) except where, by permitting it, 
he can manifest the glory of all his divine perfections, 
in condemning sin, and saving the sinner by a Saviour. 
Should it be further objected, That sin entered among 
the angeis, but those of *them that sinned have no Sa- 
viour, I answer, i. That but a certain number of them 
sinned ; and, 2 That their sin is connected with the 
sin of man ; hence Christ is said to be u manifested to 
. destroy the works of the devil." Now, as sin could 
be taken away by nothing less in our world, than by the 
sacrifice of our incarnate God, so sin could be expiated 
by no other sacrifice in any other world. But Christ 
cannot be personally united to more than one nature, for 
union to a plurality of natures, souls and bodies, would 
be confusion in the person of the Son ; therefore he 
cannot be the Saviour of any more worlds than ours. 
So, if sin entered there, they must all perish for ever, 
which is contrary to his goodness ; hence we conclude, 
that they, like our first parents, were created in holi- 
ness, and confirmed in their innocence, like the angels 
that kept their first estate. — From this view of creation, 
we may infer, 

1. How great must the Creator be, in the hollow of 
whose hand so many millions of inhabited worlds do 
roll 1 How prolific every hour of the six days creation 1 
What multitudes of holy angels admiring these works 
worthy of a God 1 To fallen angels we cannot give a 
number, though it is property very great, as we find a 
whole legion in one man ; but, in Rev. v. 1 1. we read of 
an hundred millions of angels round the throne ; and 
how many more they are, none can tell, as this is only 
a definite for an indefinite number. 

2. Hence we may see the beautiful connexion that 
takes place through the whole creation. All these 
suns, though very remote from one another, shine to 
the nearest systems as stars; thus each of them has a 
primary and secondary use, to shine as a sun to their 
own system, and as a star to the systems around them. 

3. What madness would it be in the sinners of our 
earth to marshal themselves in battle-array, and declare 
war against all the inhabitants of all these worlds, (sup- 
posing they could meet, since every individual would 
have to encounter millions and more ? But they are 



298 SOLITUDE SWBETENED ; OR, 

chargeable with more desperate madness still, who, by 
their sin, challenge to combat the Lord of hosts, the 
Lord of the armies of universal nature, and run on the 
thick bosr.es of his buckler, whose arm is omnipotent, 
whose blow is irresistible, and whose displeasure is 
death. 

4. Suppose but one million of these suns collected 
into one constellation of stars, one cluster of burning 
orbs, what a tremendous effulgence, what a deluge of 
light, and blaze of glory, would it give ; unless at a 
very great distance, no human eye could behold it. 
Yet how would all this insufferable brightness disappear 
before the heavenly glory ! When the Judge shall at 
last descend, attended with millions of angels, I make 
no doubt but the glory of every angel would darken a 
sun; what, then, must the light of the New Jerusalem 
be, which the glory of God shall lighten, and whereof 
the Lamb shall be the light 1 

5. How mean is it in a saint of God, in an expectant 
of glory, to have his temper ruffled, or his countenance 
saddened, by a few ill-natured and malicious neigh- 
bours ! to forget the meekness of the gospel, by the 
ili-usage of sinners ! since in so short a time he is to 
join so sv.e^t a society, where there ahali not be one 
waiting for his halting, nor a jarring opinion in all the 
millions of glory ! 

6. What must be the power that made, and the wis- 
dom that governs all these worlds i In what ablaze of 
glory must the Creator appear, who has kindled up so 
many millions of suns, and kept so many millions of 
planets regularly rolling around them, and even wander- 
ing comets, so that not one, through so many ages, has 
mistaken its course ! Kingdoms and churches, and fam- 
ilies, may dwell secure under the sceptre cf such a 
King, under the providence) of such a God; and every 
individual of the human race may commit his way to 
him, withqut an uneasy thought, an irksome murmur, 
or an anxious wish.. 

7. When dinners on every side create us sorrow, let 
lis reflect, that even from this earth at Just the ransom^ 
eci of the Loid shall be a great multitude which no man 
oan number. What, then, must the heavenly assem- 
bly be, the people of so many millions ©f worlds, and 



IISCELLANEOrS MEDITATIOXS. 299 

ail the hosts of holy angels, all in the presence of God 
and the Lamb, and all shouting his praises through an 
endless evermore ! 

8. Creation is the admiration of men, of philoso- 
phers ; but redemption is the wonder of angels, the 
?ie plus ultra, the furthermost that God can go. Had 
he pleased, he could have created still more and more 
worlds; but he could give nothing better, nothing 
more than his Son. In creation, his wisdom, his pow- 
er, and his goodness are manifested; but in redemp- 
tion, his manifold wisdom, his mighty power, his spot- 
less holiness, his unbounded goodness, his inflexible 
justice, and his invariable truth, shine forth, and will 
shine, while the ransomed sing before the throne. 
And here the astronomer and philosopher are reproved, 
that survey the whole creation, but stop short of God ; 
or are hiied with wonder at the works of his hands, but 
never have their hearts filled with gratitude ai: his love 
and grace in redemption. 

9. However God may shine in tke works of creat on, 
still he shines with uncommon, unrivalled, unparalleled 
lustre in the work of redemption ; for, to save one soul 
is more than to create all these worlds, He spake, and 
it was done ; he commanded, and it stood fast : he said, 
Let it be, and light, and suns, and systems, replenished 
part of the mighty regions of space ; but nothing iess 
could ransom sinners, than his own eternal Son, united 
to human nature, and sustaining unutterable agonies, the 
acutest sense of divine wrath, and thus expiring on the 
accursed tree ! O astonishing price of our redemption l 
Though all the millions of angels round the throne, and 
all the sinless inhabitants of these four hundred and 
ninety millions of worlds, had been sacrificed for the 
salvation of one soul, that soul, notwithstanding such a 
sacrifice, must have perished for ever ; for it is impossi- 
ble that the blood of bulls and of goats could take away 
sin. And on a level stand all creatures here, from the 
highest angels, through every rank of intelligent be- 
ings, because all are creatures still. I see, then, that 
my Redeemer must be a divine person, (and there is 
not greater and lesser, no semi-divine in deity,) that he 
must be the supreme, the seli-existent Jehovah. And 
shall I cast away my soul far ever, a soul of such value* 
for phantoms, for shadows 3 for nothing I 



3Q0 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

10. How should an immortal soul rise superior to all 
the trifles of creation, the pageantry of high life, and 
the splendors of royalty, and expand every power, of 
the sotjl, every menial faculty, to the improving society 
of those holy multitudes that daily arrive at heaven, to 
the fellowsjaip of millions of angels, and to eternal com- 
munion with God ! 

11. Wh'*t must the wicked feel at last, when in the 
presence, (for aught we know,) of all these assembled 
worlds, in the presence of men and angels, they shall 
be loaded with infamy, condemned to the abodes of hor- 
ror and despair, and thus punished with everlasting de- 
struction from the presence of the Lord, and from the 
glory of his power, displayed in the grand work of re- 
demption, and. in the creation of that vast multitude of 
worlds ! Not only cut off from this dear society of ho- 
ly angels, and happy innocents, from all these worlds, 
but banished the divine presence, and pursued with 
burning wrath for ever. 

12. What a noble prospect opens beyond death to ev- 
ery saint, who by nature is a social creature; for grace 
destroys not nature, but purifies and exalts it i In the 
celestial levee, among immortal grandees, in the court 
of the King of kings, they shall enjoy the divine pres- 
ence ! Though now the presence of one sovereign is 
courted with avidity, yet to be admitted into a congress 
of all the kings and potentates of this world, would be 
but a lean honor, and unsubstantial glory, (though no 
individual ever attained to it, nor probably ever will,) 
compared to that renown that attends admission into the 
general assembly and church of the first-born. As all 
these systems were created at one and the same period 
in the beginning of time, so at one and the same period 
time may end to them all, and eternity begin. And 
then, how august the assembly I how delightful the 
song i and how vast their felicity, none can tell ! Again, 
though all these worlds can claim a covenanted God, 
yet the redeemed from among men can claim an incar- 
nate God, and have notes in their hosannas which nei- 
ther angels nor any other can imitate. 

How the blessed will be employed in eternity, we 
c, , . say ; but as God is eveiy where present, so they 
will find heaven every where ; yet, where the God-man* 



*«SCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. SOI 

:#od in our nature, shall dwell in the bright effulgence 
of his glory, there shall the redeemed from among men 
assemble ; and wherever they go, or whatever they do, 
they shall enjoy God in a manner that will make them 
happy above conception or thought. 

I offer a few thoughts more, and leave them with the 
readei;. 

K The divine essence, filling immensity alike, wher- 
ever he manifests his glory, and communicates his good- 
ness, there Is heaven. Thus the angels, being blessed 
with uninterrupted vision and fruition of God, though 
employed on messages to our earth, are always in hea- 
ven, and yet earth is not heaven. 

2. It seems to be the general opinion of divines, that 
neither sun, moon, nor stars, nor our earth, shall be 
annihilated ; but the world at last shall be purified by fire f 
and appointed for some noble use by the supreme Dis- 
poser of all things. 

3. If in this new earth righteousness, (that is, the 
saints or righteous ones,) shall dwell, who, like the an- 
gels that come from the realms of bliss, shall, though 
inhabiting the earth, dwell in the very heart of heaven ; 
so, after the general judgment, the inhabitants of all 
these worlds shall dwell in their distinct globes ; yet 
all these numerous worlds shall make but one heaven, 
one commonwealth of bliss, and be for ever blessed 
with the vision of God's glory, with the communications 
of his goodness. 

4. Who can tell but that in eternity there may bo 
some grand festivals, some august solemnities, when 
the inhabitants of all these worlds shall assemble to 
worship him in universal chorus, who truly is the Lord 
of hosts, and to pay special honours to the man Christ, 
who, because he humbled himself to the death, the> 
death of the cross, has a name given him, that at the 
name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue 
confess, through heaven and earth, and universal na- 
ture ; even as in the church below, several congrega- 
tions may meet at one sacramental solemnity. VVhat a 
glorious sight will this be in tlie eyes of every adorer! 
and how will the redeemed from among men rejoice to 
see their incarnate God exalted as Head over ail ! And 
what a field of wonder, what a ilood of ecstasy, will 

B !> 



o02 SOLITUDE SWEETRNED ; OU, 

pour into these innumerable millions, when the mystery 
of redemption is revealed to them, which things the 
angels, bending down from their heavenly orbs desire 
to look into! But with what wonder, astonishment, and 
holy indignation, will they be filled, when informed that 
there are some intelligent beings that once boldly im- 
pugned the Deity, and denied the divinity of the Son, 
the second person of the ever-adored and undivided 
Trinity ! and that the miscreants should be not only of 
that world he condescended to save, but of that very so- 
ciety that did bear the Christian name ! 

5. Though they can never retire from the presence, 
the enjoyment of God, yet they may retire from this 
congress of systems, this assembly of worlds, with an 
increase of knowledge, of love, and felicity, and im- 
prove for the next convocation which may be made by 
a solemn peal, rung by archangels, or the sound of a 
trumpet ; for if the sound of a trumpet can awaken the 
dead, it may well assemble the living. 

6. When the inhabitants of all these worlds assemble 
again around the heavenly standard, with what addi- 
tional lustre will they shine to one another ! Even in 
Heaven wisdom makes the face to shine ; and as their 
researches into God are unremitted, so their growth in 
knowledge will be constant. And though all are em- 
ployed in studying God, yet some may have some sweet 
display of one divine attribute, others of another, 
wrhich they may communicate to each other, to their 
mutual joy, and increase of knowledge : Just as minis- 
ters of the gospel now, though their seaich maybe af- 
ter all truth, yet one may have a bright discovery 
of one truth, and another of a distinct truth, and soon, 
by which they may improve and edify one another. 
Thus, every time they assemble, it will be with addi- 
tional degrees of knowledge, felicity, and glory. 

Moreover, the angels, these heavenly courtiers, that 
have explored the God-head for many thousand years, 
will communicate their knowledge to all the happy 
adorers; for, in the world of spirits, every intelligent 
being can freely converse with one another. But, above 
all, Jesus, who has been the prophet to his church in 
■the militant state, will continue to be her prophet in. 
the triumphant state, and, as far as his divine wisdom 



,,„,„ 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 3 Go 

sees fit, will unfold to them more and more the myste- 
ries of grace, the magazines of glory, the arcana of 
Deity, the secrets of God. 

7. As all these worlds are but like the cities of one 
kingdom, the states of one republic, the members of 
one famiry, and the servants of one God, may not the 
inhabitants, being nimble as the angels of light, visit 
one another ? But, O how different from the visits be- 
low 1 A blaze of heaven will shine around them where- 
ever they go, the praise of God fill every mouth, and 
his glory shine in every countenance. Thrice happy 
guests ! They will set out from world to world, swift 
as angels, or quick as thought ; and to hear, and speak, 
and learn still more and more of God, will be their 
constant employment, and soul-refreshing theme. If 
the sweets of society and friendship be esteemed among 
the sons of men, how shall the sweets of sacred friend- 
ship and sinless society be esteemed among the sons 
of God ! 

8. May not we suppose poor sinners, who are shut 
up in the gulf of hell, to be like state-prisoners, who 
hear their offended sovereign passing in triumph, at- 
tended by his loyal nobles, and happy favourites, but 
no ray of hope for them ; who, therefore, gnaw their 
very chains in the anguish of despair, and, with re- 
doubled howlings, and severest remorse, bewail them- 
selves banished for ever from the glory of his power, 
that shines in such an assembly, that beams brightly in 
redeeming love ; and shall feel the superadded sense 
of divine displeasure teeming into every power and 
faculty of the soul for ever. Oh 1 how must the tor- 
ments of sinners, the anguish of damnation, be height- 
ened; sharpened, and screwed up to the highest pitch, 
by this sad reflection, that their state is fixed, and tiieir 
misery shall endure to ail eternity, in the fullest mean- 
ing of the word, in spite of all that witless votaries for 
hell have said to the contrary ! 

9. Wherever the saints, the ransomed of the Lord, 
may dwell, it must be in heaven, and they shall be 
blessed with the presence of the man Christ; for he is 
their Head, and they are his members. Angels, and 
all the happy worlds, are related to him as their Crea- 
tor and supreme good, but the saints claim him as tneir 



304 SOLITUDE SWEETENED ; OR, 

Brother, their Husband, their Head ; and, by thi9 re- 
latioiu have an honour superior to any other created 
intelligence; for "he took not on him the nature of 
angels, but the seed of Abraham." 

10. Whatever delight and satisfaction all these in- 
tellect beings may find in searching into the wonders 
of creation, into that astonishing variety that may pre- 
vail among the inhabitants of the numerous systems 
(since even among the angeis that are al! immaterial 
beings, we find thrones and dominions, principalities 
and powers, angeis and arch-angels, cherubim and se- 
raphim ;) yet, every happy adorer will join the psalm- 
ist of oid, " Whom have 1 heaven but thee ? and there * 
is none upon the earth," none in all the systems, none 
in any world, " that I desire besides thee/* And iho' 
the s udents on divine subjects shall be innumerable, 
yet every divine perfection, being infinite, shall afford 
them ample scope for their searches For 1 am of 
©pinion, that their knowledge shall be so acute and 
comprehensive, that the motions, laws, and universal 
connexion that the systems have with one another, shall 
be familiar and easy to them. But, with what growing 
wonder, and holy deright, shall they admire that Pow- 
er that produced such numerous worlds from mere 
nothing, pure nonentity ! and called such mighty spirits 
as the angels into being with a word ! And how will 
the most penetrating geniuses of angels, or of men, 
or other intelligent beings, find themselves lost in 
-searching into his self-existence and essence ! His is 
so infinite, that it defies, and will forever defy, their 
researches, and, compared with him, ail these millions 
©f angels, and millions of worlds, with their inhabi- 
tants, are but as an atom to space, or a point to ubiqui- 
ty ! In this infinite essence, the happy inquirers will 
find glories for ever new ! Moreover how will they be 
completely ravished to think, (though no creature can 
understand how,) that this great God, in three con- 
substantial, co-equal persons, must have existed from 
a necessity of nature, from a necessary perfection, and 
must have existed with all the necessary attributes of 
infinity, omnipotence, omniscience, an immutability, 
as well as holiness, justice, goodness, and truth, from 
all evermore ! Likewise, the works of providence m 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 305 

every world, and respecting every individual, will be 
a noble theme to the heirs of felicity; and, among 
these works, the salvation of sinners, by the incarna- 
tion, sufferings, and satisfaction of the Son of God, 
will be the wonder of all the glorious intelligences, as 
well as the song of the redeemed. 

Finally, the Lord shall rejoice in all his works, and 
his glory shall continue for ever ; while to millions of 
millions he communicates of his goodness through 
eternity ! compared with whom, what a small handful 
shall underlie his burning indignation for ever ! But, 
O melancholy thought ! perhaps my dear acquaintance, 
my daily companions or my near relations, may be a- 
mong the unhappy persons I O that they may be made 
to flee from the wrath to come ! 

To add no more, how dark are our views, and how 
ignorant are we of the world to come 1 But this may 
fill us with solid joy, that it is wholly in his hand, wh« 
will make his people happy in and with himself for ever^ 
whose presence is fulness of joy, and to be at whose* 
right-hand is pleasure evermore. 



MEDITATION CXLV; 

A PROSPECT OF DEATH. 

A dispute has long subsisted between my mortal 
frame and death ; and though I have long maintained 
the struggle with a life subject to disease and pain, I 
must at last yield to the universal conqueror, and be led 
to the house appointed for all living. In a little, the king 
of terrors wiil advance toward me, harnished to slay, 
and I shall not always escape the keen destroyer. But 
here is the comfort of a Christian, that he may die, and 
yet not be hurt of the second death ; yea he may enter 
undismayed the lists with him who is the terror of kings, 
as with a conquered foe, and with cheerfulness view the 
silent grave ; for though his dust rot, yet his hope shall 
flourish for ever. O what an unspeakable privilege is 
an interest in the Son of God, whereby that which sets 
the secure world a trembling, fills the believer's mouth 
with songs of triumph I Happy would the wicked be, 
if freed from the fears of approaching death ; but this 
B b 2 



106 SOLITUDE SWEETENED J OR« 

advancing day, when he is dissolved, to be with JesiiS) 
kindles joy in the believer's breast. 

Reluctant nature, indeed, may struggle in the last 
pangs, but disclosing glories shall scatter every gloom. 
My relatives may weep about me, but my soul shall be 
all harmony within. My body may toss and tumble on 
a death-bed, but my hope shall be fixed within the vail. 
Mourning and weeping may attend my decease, but my 
departed soul shall soar to everlasting song ; and, while 
my sad friends inter my lifeless clay, my immortality 
shall enter into the joy of my Lord. Such views as these 
refresh the expectant of glory ; and whatever clouds 
may darken his evening sky, yet his state is secure, and 
he shall never walk alone, through the dark shadow, 
the solitary valley of death. The same divine Saviour, 
who has been a cloud and a shadow to him all the days 
of his life, will also be the shining of a flaming fire to 
him in the night of his death. Hence dissolution itself, 
like the cloud of old, when kindly interposed between 
flying Israel and pursuing Egypt, though it be terror 
and darkness to depraved mortals, yet it is joy, light, 
and transport to adopted sons. 

If, on the approach of the decisive moments, fierce 
disease will allow my soul so much tranquility as to think, 
with what delight will I bid the world adieu, how will 
my joys swell to see myself on the brink of an eternity 
of glory ! And, if I can use my tongue, how shall my 
dying breath speak of the excellences of my divine Re- 
deemer, and commend religion to the sons of men ! 
How shall I expatiate on the bliss, the entrancing joys 
found in his presence, even below, when the soul dwells 
with great delight under his shadow,, and eats his fruits, 
while paradise blooms around him ! How shall I also 
endeavor to set forth a little of that triumphant state 
that is before the throne 1 Then, taking my last, mine 
eternal farewell of all created things, I shall fix my 
soul on all the boundless bliss, and everlasting glory, 
that is in his presence, and, while he graciously begins 
to shed eternal noon about me, shall breathe my soul 
out among his beams, and rise in his irradiation to the 
yery throne- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 307 

MEDITATION CXLVI. 

A STATE AFTER DEATH. 

Indeed, the roost part of men live as if there were 
do futurity, no hereafter ; as if they should altogether 
drop out of being the moment they drop their mortal 
frame. But, notwithstanding the confined views of de- 
praved mortals, a noble prospext opens beyond deaih, 
the hope of the heaven-espoused breast. Surely, as the 
prisoner, long detained in the dreary dungeon, when al- 
lowed to pass the envious door, to be possessed of lib- 
erty once more, looks with delight on unbounded fields 
of day, and, with a kind of greedy joy, glances the 
whole surrounding skies ; so, when my soul, through 
the door of death, shall escape from this clay prison, 
in which I daily groan, and pass through the confines 
of time, I shall rise at once into eternity itself, look 
round on fields of light, on floods of glory, and, with 
the overflowings of an holy joy, see felicity, in its infi- 
nite plenitude, measure with eternity above. 

What matter, then, though my dust mingle for a 
while with the earth, and my memory perish among the 
sons of men, if mine immortal soul, all activity and life, 
be going out unweariedly in praising the Fountain of 
glory, and well-spring of salvation ? If my death be 
happy, mine eternity shall be blessed ; if his beams dis- 
pel the darkness of death, I shall walk in the light of his 
countenance for ever. In that state of bliss, all my bliss 
shall be according to the state of the King. I shall live 
in his smile, and be ravished with his emanations ; I 
shall walk in his light, and be conformed to his like- 
ness. I shall drink of his pleasures, put on his strength, 
and partake of the divine nature ! O how every power 
of soul shall burn in his beams, brighten in his glory, 
and kindle in his love : Then will this dying worm be- 
gin to live after the manner of angels ; then shall this- 
lukewarm soul love in a degree a-kin to seraphim, and 
join in the raptures of the harpers before the throne. 
Here, in his sanctuary, have I seen some of his steps 
of majesty, but there shall I behold him in all his glo- 
ry, and my soui shall have, through his own amazing 
condescension, such refined apprehensions, such a clear 



3©8 MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATION*. 

and lively knowledge cf him, that I may be said to " see 
him face to face, and to know as I am known. " There 
I shall walk in white in the presence of the undivided 
Trinity, and shall enjoy communion with Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost, for ever. I shall admire all his daz- 
zling glories, adore all his divine perfections, and be 
possessed of pleasures large as my wish, pure as the 
bliss of angels, immortal as my own soul, and liberal as 
the bounty of the glorious Giver. 

Again, whatever glorious things and sacred bliss I 
am possessed of, this adds to its excellency, that it is 
eternal ; while my toils shall all dissolve in endless rest, 
my griefs in everlasting joy, and my sorrows in eternal 
songs. 

Surely, when I see such a state before me, I am as* 
tonished that my state below, whatever it be, should, 
trouble me, more than a bad day or dirty way should in- 
commode a king going to his coronation ; and that hap- 
piness of which I am an expectant as much transcends 
his, as his does that of the most wretched galley-slave. 
Then, at that day when the world shall say of me, He is 
no more, I shall begin to be what will crown my highest 
aim, and satisfy my whole desires, even an abiding in- 
habitant in the world above, where I shall enjoy God, 
the inconceivable good, in an inconceivable manner, 
through endless ages. Then, a few moments, and in 
this world I am no more ; and again, a few moments, and, 
if my hope deceive me not, I am therefor evermore. 



MEDITATION CXLVII. 

A GLANCE AT THE GLORIES ON THE OTHER SIDE 
CREATION. 

All at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of 
bliss, a spacious sea of glory ; lost in wonder amidst in- 
effable divinities, and transported with the raptures of 
seraphic harmony. 

The first and reigning glory is, that Jehovah keeps 
his royal court in person here. His dwelling-place is 
enriched with the richest profusion of his love, with 
the brightest displays of his goodness ; and, while all 
his saints rejoice in his excellent glory, what ardour- 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 209. 

glows in every soul, what rapture swells in every song*! 
O the adorable displays of his perfections ! the mani- 
festations of his goodness, the outlettings of his love ! 
and the intercourse that is between him and his hidden 
ones! The fuJness of the Father, treasured up in the 
Son, dispensed by the Spirit, is the crown-charter of 
the kingdom above, where the royal privilege of every 
inhabitant carries him to the utmost extent of commu- 
nicable glory 

What buildings are these ? They be the palaces of 
the great King, the mansions of our lmmanuel, of 
which there are many in his Father's house ; and they 
are all magnificent, founded in grace, and furnished 
with glory : " The beams of our house are cedar, and 
the rafters are fir." Age shall never enter here, and 
nothing shall decay: " The King is held in the galle- 
ries." What a beautiful city is the New Jerusalem, 
the mother of us all : of which the Lord God and the 
Lamb are the light ! How glorious are its gates^ where 
pearls of essential beauty sparkle ! and all the attributes 
of God blaze divinesy bright ! 

There trophies of eternal victory lie beneath Imman- 
liel's feet. He is our elder brother, our near kinsman, 
and our husband. This is the relation from which our 
grandeur springs, our being married into the high and 
honourable family of heaven. What a blessing is it to 
be brethren to the Son of God, and hear him to us in 
that capacity declare his Father's name i O the assimi- 
lating beams of glory that dart from his eyes, and shoot 
likeness with the ray ! We see him, and are like him ; 
we are like him, and iove him, and are eternally bap- 
py ! No wonder that the world was such a waste and 
howling wilderness, such a dry and thirsty desert, such 
a land of heat and drought, compared to the heavenly 
Canaan, where the rivers of pleasures overflow their 
banks for ever. 

Why did we expect joys on earth ? Our mortal frame 
could not have borne the transports of eternal day ; yea, 
here it is all we can to bear the brightness of his beams. 
O love ! O rapture ! O ecstatic joys ! O everlasting 
heaven ! The general assembly, now met on the holy 
Mount Zion, the joy of the whole heaven, is an assem- 
bly ef gods, all sons of the Highest, and the Lord God. 



310 solitude sweetened; or, 

of gods, the Lord God of gods, dwell among them ! O 
ineffable glory i to dwell forever in the royal pavilion 
of heaven, in most intimate communion with the King 
eternal, immortal, and invisible i 

What rapturous notes are these I hear ? The song of 
Moses and the Lamb. My soul dissolves in praise, my 
spirit pours out in sweet hosannas, all heaven is melo- 
dy, angels accent the song. O the charming anthems 
of glory ! O the high strokes of the harpers round the 
throne ! The song of the redeemed is the song of songs. 
We will sing to thee while we live, while we have our 
being we will bless thee. Weeping endured for a lit- 
tle, through the short night of time, but joy is come in 
the morning of the resurrection ; and we have a song 
in this solemn assembly, and gladness, being come in- 
to the house of the Lord. Our happiness shall utter 
hallelujahs, our glory sing thy praise, and never be si- 
lent. Sing ye inhabitants oS eternity, shout from the 
mountains of myirh, and hiiis of frankincense, where 
ye rest, and are refreshed for ever. And shall these 
ravishing hosannas never end, these songs of love nev- 
er cease I O life of angels I O warbles of eternal noon ! 
for we rest not clay nor night to sing of all thy glory. 

Say, was I ever sad ? What although since now my 
sackcloth is loosed, and I am girt with gladness. Here, 
to the glory of the bounteous Giver, we have all things 
common. This God, this glory, this upmaking all, my 
feliow-saints, without my loss, is yours, and, Without 
any prejudice to you, is also wholly mine. Here we 
drink at life's immortalising stream, and with eternal 
joy draw water oui of the veils of salvation. From the 
rivers of thy pleasures, O God ! thou wilt make us 
largely drink : M Eat, O friends ! drink, yea, drink 
abundantly, O beloved ! for in my presence there is 
fulness of joy, and at my right-hand are pleasures for 
evermore." 

O thou that art as my brother, I have found thee ; 
not within the promise, not in the ordinances, as in the 
day* of my flesh, but without, in the most ample dis- 
plays of thy eternal love, in the open fields of glory, 
and shall kiss thee, and not be despised, I have found 
thee, and shall hold thee, and not let thee go through 
all eternitv, 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. 311 

Here we receive out of his fulness, and grace for 
grace, and glory for glory. Our possession is worthy * 
of our liberal Giver. We have a kingdom which can- 
not be- moved, an inheritance undefined, and that fadeth 
not away ; a city that hath foundations, whose builder 
and maker is God. We have garments of glory, a 
crown of righteousness, a crown of life ; the tree of life 
to feed upon, the fountain of life to drink of, and the 
garden of God to walk in. We have life above the 
reach of death, health secured from sickness, and plea- 
sure without pain. Our bodies are immortal, our souls 
immaculate, our senses sanctified, our conceptions spir- 
itualised, our faculties enlarged, and our whole soul 
replenished with divinity. Our past bliss is present 
with us in the sweet remembrance, our pr6sent bliss 
entrances in the enjoyment, and our fuiure bliss is pre- 
sent with us in the full assurance of our eternal felicity. 
Thus we are for ever blessed to the highest degree. 
'We are above all fear, beyond anxiety and doubt, and 
fixed above ail change. Our service is sincere, our 
adorations ardent, our knowledge profound and satisfy- 
ing. Rapture rushes in at every part ; our eyes are 
ravished with seeing the King in his beauty, our ears 
with hearing the songs of the inner temple, our nose 
with the fragrance of the Rose of Sharon, the Plant of 
renown; our feet with standing in his holy place; our 
hands with handling of the word of life ; and our mouth 
with the wine of our Beloved, that goeth down sweetly, . 
causing our souls to shout aloud, and the lips of us who 
were once silent in death, asleep in the grave, to sing, 
and never cease. Our fruition of his fulness, ouh vi- 
sion of his perfections and glory, our interest in his of- 
fices and relations, our union to the incarnate Word, 
our communion with all the persons of the glorious 
Godhead, and our participation with the divine nature, 
constitute our most exalted bliss, and are the heaven of 
heavens. 

These are the years of the right-hand of the Most 
High. Here He, of whom Solomon in all his majesty 
was once a languid type, is crowned with all the bright- 
ness of his Mediatorial glory ; and this is the day of 
eternal espousals, the day of the gladness of his heart. 
The Father and the Bridegroom are come, and the 



$12 SOLITUDS SWEETEN 




Spirit and the Bride are come, and let every one that 
heareth come to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, for 
all things are now ready. The banquet is prepared* 
and the guests are bid ; the table is furnished, and the 
company set down ; and blessed are they that eat the 
bread of life in the kingdom of God. O the sweetness 
of the Lamb of God ! O the honied excellency of the 
true manna, that came down to earth to feed us there, 
and is taken up to heaven to feast us here. O the table 
discourse of glory ! O the melting language of mutu- 
al love ! we never knew what communion was till here. 
The banquet shall never be ended, the table never 
drawn, the guests shall never scatter, they shall go n# 
more out, and come no more in. 

The Father hath lovea the Son, and given all things 
into his hand ; the Son hath loved us, and given us all 
things richly to enjoy. The Father hath loved us as 
his own Son ! Love is love here indeed i O the sacred 
familiarity that is in love 1 O the kindness of Imman- 
uei's heart! Father, I will that those whom thou hast 
brought hither, see all my glory which thou bast given 
me, for they love me, and delight in my glory. Lord, 
thou that knowest all things, knowest that we love thee, 
and that our happiness is in beholding thy glory. O 
what torrents of eternal love teem from the throne into 
our souls ! Now, we know that God is love, and in his 
love he rests towards us. And dost thou delight in the 
work of thine hands ? Art thou charmed with the love 
of thy creatures ? w Turn away your eyes, for they have 
overcome me !" Nay, Lord, we have fixed our eyes on 
thee, O thou that art fairer than the sons of men, than 
the angels of God ; and there they shall be fixed and 
fea.st for ever. Our eyes shall dwell on thee, and our 
hearts fly out at our eyes. 

Glory is a native of the better country. Glory has 
her habitation in our land. Darkness is debarred the 
regions of eternal day, and sorrow banished the realms 
of bliss. Our winter is over and gone, our spring is in 
perpetual verdure, our summer in eternal bloom ; our 
Sun is in his height, our day is at its noon, and there 
is no night here. Our love is in the flame, and our 
well-beloved is ours, and we are his ; he feedeth among 
ihe lillics. The day is broke, and the shadows blown 



MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS. olo 

away, and we walk with him in white ; yea, we are 
changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord 
that dwells in us, and are called up into the mount of 
communion, from which we never shall come down ; 
and here we talk and speak face to face with him, as a 
man speaketh unto his friend ; and our hearts burn with- 
in us, while he talks with us, and opens up to us the 
mystery of redemption, the wonders of his love. 

Here we search with serenity, satisfaction, and joy, 
into the secrets of eternity, into all the deep things of 
God. The nonplussing contingencies of our transitory 
life shine now with harmony, wisdom, and goodness 
through the whole ; and, tnough we were stumbled at 
our own afflictions, yet now we adore his conduct, and 
confess, that we could not wisely inquire concerning 
the matter below. Now religion triumphs, piety is 
vested in her honorary robes, and all those that stood 
boldly up for the honour of the King, when trampled 
upon by his demented enemies, ride on white horses in 
his glorious train, clothed in the garments of salvation 
with a fair crown upon their head, and the royal proc- 
lamation made from the throne, Thus shall it be done 
thiough eternity to the men whom the King delightetlt 
to honour. 

Blessed are the men whom thou hast thus chosen, 
and made approach unto thee. Surely we are abundant- 
ly satisfied with thy goodness, which thou prtparedst 
for us when we were poor, with the divine bounty of 
thy temple. Thou hast crowned the year of thy grace, 
with thine eternity of glory. The hills of glory re- 
joice on every side, and the heavens shout and sing to 
thee, for thou hast made them glad. Though our ene- 
mies rode over our heads in the days of trouble and 
turmoil, yet we had power over them in the dawn of 
glory, in the morning of the resurrection The ugh we 
did pass through the fires of persecution, through the 
waters of adversity, yea, through the rapid stream of 
dissolution at last, yet thou hast brought us to a wealthy 
land, so that we have a goodly heritage ; and the lines 
are fallen to us in pleasant places, being led to the good- 
ly mount which thy right-hand had purchased for us, O 
Immanuel ! 

G c 



314 solitude sweeteneb; or, 

Here will I pay my vows through all eternity, which 
I spake in the day of my trouble, in the land of my pil- 
grimage. O love ! never to be forgot, which has 
brought me safely through so many winding labyrinths, 
and crooked path^, in sight of so many enemies, in spite 
of a tempting devil, in spite of the accusation of my 
sins, the rebellion of my lusts, the carnality ot my af- 
fections, and the weakness of all my graces, to stand at 
last for ages on an even place, and bless God in the con- 
gregation of sinless adorers ! 

Here our vision is full and assimilating, our fruition 
satisfying and solacing, and our communion free and 
uninterrupted. O how rapturous to begin converse 
with the God of glory for eternity ? We have found him 
in Bethel, in his own house, in his own heaven, and 
here we speak with him. Yea, we weep tor joy, and 
pour out acclamations of ecstasy, since he will never 
go away. We have power over the uncreated Angel, 
and in the struggles of seraphic love, we wrestle and 
prevail with him, that he shall never, never, never leave 
us. O the pleasure that is in his piesence ! O the ex- 
uberant rivers of joy that flow at his right-hand! How 
much better is his love than life, and the light of his 
countenance than the possession of ten thousand crea- 
tions ! 

Honor only dwells here. O deluded mortals ! to 
strive so for empty names, and transitory epithes be- 
low ! For honor and majesty are before him, strength 
and beauty are in his sanctuary. Where are all the shin- 
ing sons of honor now, all the men of fame ? Ah ! they 
are wrapt up in midnight darkness, while the righteous 
shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father With 
what envious eye, and angry heart, did our haters, who. 
accounted us the refuse and offscouring of all things, 
see us, in our princely robes, and royal apparel, mount 
our thrones by divine command, to judge impenitent 
men, and apostate angeis ? How could we ever com- 
plain cif being hated of ail men for thy sake ? Why did 
we ever think much of the most cruel mockings, of the 
calumniating lip, or slandering tongue ? Even then we 
were more than recompensed by the testimony of a good 
conscience, and tokens of peace from the eternal throne. 
But, O 1 what a reward is this, that the ridicule of a 



MISCELLANEOUS HESITATIONS. 315 

few days should be repaid with ineffable renown in the 
sight of ail the angels of God, through all the days of 
eternity ! This is the true and triumphant state of glo- 
ry. O ! what is it to reign on high with the King of 
kings ! to sit down with him on his throne for all ages, 
and never be degraded from that divine dignity ! 

O eternity ! once the comfort of our longing expec- 
tations, now the transport of our enlarged souls ! For 
we are ever with the Lord, seeing his unclouded face, 
wearing his divine name, drinking at the streams of his 
pleasures, eating of his hidden manna, sitting beneath 
the Tree of life, basking under the beams of the Sun 
of righteousness, singing hallelujahs to him that loved 
us, that washed us in his blood, and brought us hither, 
sharing in his dominions, and dividing the spoil, for the 
lame share the prey with the Almighty Conqueror. Here 
we dwell in God, and he in us ; we know his love, are 
transformed into his glorious likeness, and made parta- 
kers of his divine nature. O state of complete happi- 
ness, and consummate bliss, only to be apprehended in 
the possession, known in the enjoyment, and under- 
stood in its eternal duration ! Now the day has broken, 
the shadows fled away, and all is eternal noon ! Not a 
desire I had, but, larger than its dimensions, is fulfil- 
led ; not a request but, more than it contained, is grant- 
ed ; and all my soul is satisfied and replenished with the 
divine plenitude of thy superabundant goodness. 

Come, my Beloved, let us hold the most intimate 
communion ; here will I give thee my loves. Blessed 
I ! What glories blaze ! what wonders rise ! what ar- 
dors glow within ! All is light and glory, all joy and ex- 
ultation ! all is transport and praise, all astonishment 
and wonder ! all is vision and likeness, all fruition and 
satisfaction! all is God ! God and the Lamb are all in 
all, to all the heavenly nations, through ages all. Amen I 



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